By Lucas Pruett

You know what is one of the main things we seek in our lives on a daily basis? Compassion. We don’t realize it at all but we want so badly for someone to have compassion on us. That is why we seek help from others during our times of trouble or that we are so quick to pick up the phone when we are feeling down. We want someone to come into our narratives and help. We also sometimes want someone to come into our narratives and just let us know that they care. Humans desire compassion. Luckily for us, our savior Jesus has an endless amount of compassion for us. His compassion for us is also powerful beyond our imaginations. Let us look at this through the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead. John 11:33 states, “When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was moved and troubled. ‘Where have you laid him?’ He asked.” I could never in a short article even begin to express how much this verse moves my heart. In this story, Lazarus has died while Jesus was a mere two miles away. When he finally arrives to Mary and Martha’s house, Mary greets him outside the city gates and is justifiably upset. She falls at his feet and weeps. Jesus is moved in a huge way by his compassion. We see the famous verse two verses after this that describes Jesus’s action of weeping(Jesus Wept- John 11:35). However, I love his quote in verse 33 and the significance of it. Jesus powerfully asked “Where have you laid him?”. This is a question of action that is driven by his compassion. His compassion is powerfully ignited when he experiences Mary and the crowd weeping in front of him. We see that compassion burst forward when he ask this quesiton. He wants to know where Lazarus has been laid where he can go and raise him from the dead. Jesus doesn’t think twice. He knows what he is capable of and what he is going to do. We see later in the story that Jesus arrives at Lazarus’s tomb and ask for the stone at the entrance to be rolled away. He then commands Lazarus to come out and Lazarus is raised and comes walking out of the tomb. This is a powerful story. The resurrecting power of God is amazing and it is hard not to stay right there. However, for the sake of this article, we need to note that the compassion that drives all of this is available to us daily. Jesus walks with us and journeys with us throughout our lives. He responds to us just as he does his disciples and those that he loves such as Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. We have the ability to come to him in our weeping and hurt and fall at his feet just as Mary does. When we come to him vulnerably, Jesus’s compassion drives him to weep for us and drives him to action. His compassion is so much better than that we seek from others because his has the ability to change things in our lives. The compassion of Christ is such an irristable quality of his. It is qualities like this that make Jesus real to us. He is your real savior. He is not a picture figure in the children Sunday school bible. He is not just a historical figure that changed the landscape of history. He is your real savior. He has compassion for you during your struggles, troubles, and pains. He has full knowledge that their will be trouble on this earth (John 16:33). His response to that fact is that he journeys with us and he offers us real support in the form of compassion, love, and rest. Please lean into him this week. He is everywhere with you. He wants you to turn to him instead of turning to everyone else. He has the power to change your life. One touch from him can change your life. Get to his feet this week! Have a great week. If you have any thoughts or comments then please feel free to reach out to me at writingonpurpose@gmail.com.