Best 19 Bible Verses About Compassion
The Bible is clear that compassion is an attribute of God and of God’s people as well. We must show compassion to all people and love them as our neighbor. Here are the best 19 Bible verses about compassion.
5 Stories From The Bible About Compassion
Here are 5 stories from the Bible about receiving and showing compassion.
Forgiving of Others
If we remember that we were forgiven; we who were once ungodly, wicked enemies of God (Romans 5:6-10), we should feel compelled to “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). Others could never have sinned against us as much as we have sinned against God, so we ought to naturally want to be “forgiving one another” because “God in Christ forgave” us.
The Compassionate Christ
The word “compassion” is literally “with” (com) “passion,” meaning it is with passion that we come to others and show love, kindness, and forgiveness. When you see a person you know is not saved, don’t you feel compassion for them since they don’t know Christ? Jesus, “When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things” (Mark 6:34). Let the things that break God’s heart, break our hearts also.
Compassionate Hearts
Paul instructs believers to “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Colossians 3:12-13). The idea of putting on these things means we have to be intentional in showing compassion toward others, because it isn’t natural for us, not being in our nature.
Compassion for Others
Paul prayed, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). The lesson is that we should be comforting others the way that God has comforted us by using others. God uses others as a means to bring us comfort, so we ought to do the same; comforting those in their afflictions.
A Brother in Need
A great part of compassion is not just caring for and praying for others, but actually helping others in tangible ways. The Apostle John said that “if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him” (1 John 3:17)? It’s not enough to say, “I’m sorry for your trouble…I will pray for you.” Rather let us, “I am sorry for your trouble…I will pray for you, and here, maybe this will help.” If we close our eyes and ears to others, God may well do that for us for a time.
It’s not hard to show compassion. You can do that by your words; by your non-judgmental attitude, and by helping someone’s need in a specific way. Love is a verb…it’s more what you do than what you say.
I hope you’ve been inspired by these Bible verses about compassion! Don’t forget to share this page and visit another one of our great pages about God’s word.