Christ’s Compassion

There’s a real lack of empathy in the Body of Christ. There’s plenty of sympathy, but empathy is in short supply these days.

Sympathy and empathy are two different things from two different places. Empathy is when we say, “I know exactly how you feel. I’ve been there myself.”

Jesus has empathy, not sympathy, for you. Empathy is a Kingdom thing.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet he did not sin. – Hebrews 4:15

Now sympathy is the product of a religious spirit. Like the high priest Gamaliel in Jesus’ day, we say, “If it’s of God, it will prosper. If it’s not, it will go away on it’s own.” While that sounds wise, it’s actually very foolish in God’s eyes.

That response says, “I’m unconcerned about your need and won’t take any responsibility for helping you.” It’s the equivalent of Pontius Pilate not finding any fault with Jesus, yet washing his hands of responsibility for the obvious blood about to be spilled. God wants a harvest out of us. Sympathy and saying, “If it’s God’s will…” won’t pull anyone out of Satan’s clutches. God loves empathy because it fuels action, commitment and responsibility.