Mar 24, 2020
By John J. Pethtel
In our Christian journey of walking with Jesus and doing what He does, we must also learn to grow in loving who He loves. He loves those who are like Him and those who are different from Him.
If we truly value all human beings as created in God’s image and having intrinsic value and dignity because of this, then we must learn how to become broken-hearted when one of those human beings needs help.
The struggles of this world and the attacks of its Master intend to trip us up and make us think that there is nothing that we as individuals can do to assist ourselves or others to live with dignity.
Here are some practical ways to grow your compassion for others and to see people with the “grace goggles” that Jesus sees others with:
● While you could start your exploration of compassion with any book of the Bible, I would encourage you to read the books of Luke and Acts straight through. These two books, penned by the same author, are the training manuals for Christian compassion. (If you read four chapters a day you can finish this task in 2 weeks).
● Become familiar with the research and challenges of those in poverty. While there are hundreds of online resources, a few that I visit often are the US Partnership on Mobility from Poverty, The Urban Institute’s Low-Income Working Families research, The Pew Research Center, and Feeding America.
● Acting with compassion starts with listening and responding to those in need. As you interact with those in need, you will inevitably learn about the challenges and struggles of poverty.
● Sometimes the most important thing that we can do is to pray. Prayer opens our hearts and minds to ways that we can work to reflect the character and love of Christ.
● Think of how you donate. One way to think about personal giving is to focus your philanthropy on a single or small group of organizations. Concentrating your donations provides consistent support that helps organizations thrive.
● Practicing compassion is at the heart of volunteer service. Volunteering with a program is a great way to learn compassion for others.
● Vote. Christians have the responsibility to engage in public policy.
● Learn about one nonprofit organization each week that works with those in poverty.
While not a complete list, these are some ideas that should build a commitment to the practice of compassion. Certainly, random acts of kindness, as captured in the popular book from over two decades ago, do matter. At the same time, I would argue that God’s compassion is systematic and more than a series of random acts. Compassion is an intentional, faith-based discipline wired to our daily actions.
How Volunteering Grows Your Faith
When I was a teenager, I could already see the benefit of not just attending my local church and consuming spiritual goods and services but of serving others and the Kingdom. There were many people at my local church who made a newcomer like me feel at home over the course of a couple of years—from those who greeted me on a Sabbath morning, to those who made sure there was a snack, and those who took time to create a lesson for me to learn more about God and His Word. How could I return that service?
While I knew that there would be intrinsic intangible benefits of helping others, I never realized that in volunteering my time, passion, and gifts to my local church and then to the SDB General Conference I would grow my faith in a good God.
At first glance, it seems as if you may not be needed to help your church or the General Conference actively advance God’s Kingdom. However, you are needed more than you know and not just to do some tasks. You need to volunteer with your local church and/or with the General Conference so that you might have the opportunity to grow your faith in God. It might take a bit of time to find the right spot but no time or effort in serving the Lord will be wasted in your spiritual growth. God uses volunteering to change us.
Volunteering has been used by God to change me in four specific ways over the years:
1. Serving Allows Us to Experience God’s Power Firsthand
When we are able to see how God is moving in and among the people of our congregation and its community, it increases our faith. Nothing grows us like seeing God work towards the miracle of transferring people from darkness to light.
2. Serving Allows Us to Experience Our Purpose
We are able to experience joy to the fullest from serving God and others. We were “created in Christ Jesus to do good works.” You have been gifted especially by God and are valuable to Him and the church. God uses our volunteering and that of those we serve alongside to help reveal our gifts and purpose to us. When we operate in our gifts, we experience the kind of joy we were made for!
3. Serving Allows Us to Experience Authentic Community
If I had to choose one word to describe how volunteering has affected my life, it would be community. Serving others has allowed me to create a larger family from across the world of those I have served and those I have served with. God has used those people to encourage me, pray for me, and teach me. My relationship with Jesus has flourished because of this family.
4. Serving Allows Us to Be Obedient and to Fix Our Eyes on Jesus
The simplest way to follow Jesus is by doing what He did. Jesus tells us that He came to serve, not be served. In serving, we get to know Jesus in a new way and experience His love for others through our service. This allows us to see people as Jesus does and redirect our focus to Him. There is no better way to diminish the significance of my problems than to re-focus on Jesus by becoming more like Him.
Not volunteering will rob you of the joys God designed for you to experience through serving. Take a risk and get involved. God will honor that step of faith and grow it into so much more!
Is serving in your local church your next step? If so, speak with your local church pastor for how you can help serve God through and with the other members and attendees at your local church.
Is serving all SDB churches your next step? If so, speak to any Conference Director to see if there are some ways to get you involved in your area of passion and gifting.
