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The Compassion of Christ

He inspires us to love and serve thy neighbor

• Walking with God // Prayer for the hurting, God's Love
• Adam Cole // July 12, 2009

As part of a day of serving, members of the Norfolk church I attend fed 200 hungry and needy souls. © Adam Cole  2009

Volunteers at the special picnic pray for a man during the gospel presentation part of the cook out. © Adam Cole 2009

See Photos from Serving those in Need: God gave life to a gigantic picnic

Those that call themselves followers of the Lord Jesus are called to embody His way of life: to love others, to serve others.

Myself and other fellow believers joined together July 12 for a chance to provide a boost of encouragement in a big way to those in need. We held a picnic, one with hamburgers and hot dogs, music and prize giveaways.

To serve ‘the least of these’ is all about compassion, all about seeking to uplift others, to give them hope…the same kind of hope—and joy—that Christ gave us, and continues to give us, in our dark days and troubled times. That's the spirit we took and take with us whenever we intersect in the lives of those in need.

Christ's compassion is my personal inspiration in why I choose to dedicate much time to serving and being with the homeless, not for any acclaim, to give any credit upon myself, but because I feel led by His Spirit to share a few moments with people that are usually scoffed off and put off.

Rather than being a ‘service project’ our cook out for the needy was more of a celebration, a celebration of unity in this world…because we are all people, tied together, under God, no matter our life situation. The ‘volunteers’ were on hand found common ground and common bonds with the jobless/homeless folks that came.

A message of Jesus Christ’s gospel was given to all attendees. The guest speaker, Pastor Paul Hardy, gave a message that is the foundation of what Jesus lived and died for, that through Him we can all be saved, no matter our works, no matter our gains in life. Several professed His name for the first time, or at least gave there hearts in a way that they wanted to be committed to His call for a righteous and more worthy life only possible by walking with Him.

Joy abounded as the music played into our hearts and souls. There were a plenty of hugs and smiles.

In the end, we all left blessed, not by anything we did but what He did in us and through and for us. His love indeed filled the park where we were gathering.

I left knowing that many of our attendees would be spending that night in a park or in a shelter or some hidden place. I held them in my heart, as I always do, praying over them in a subtle way, knowing that God’s sovereignty would prevail to keep them safe, to impart His way to take them in the direction they needed to go. This special fellowship, where life paths interect must not be an every so often thing...people without much hope need a God-inspired love to carry on. How we continue to achieve this? – only God really has the plans.

A final prayer: We give them, the hurting and the needy to You, Lord. Strengthen us to serve, encourage, and give them a bridge so that they may fulfill Your purpose. You work wonders of many kinds and we thank You that no matter what, we have a perfect provision in life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.