esplanchisthe

Today in the One Year Bible, we read Luke 7:11-35. Jesus is "moved with compassion" for the widow of Nain, and raises her son from the dead.

The word in Greek for "was moved with compassion" is esplanchisthe, which strongly gives the impression that He was acted upon by His mercy, or His compassion. In some translations, we say His heart went out to her, or that He had pity on her. But the Greek is stronger, and gives the message that He was, in a sense, overpowered by His love and compassion for her, and so acted on it.

Two big lessons for us here. First, He is moved by His compassion, and that includes toward  YOU, in YOUR life. He hears your cries. His heart is open to your pain. When you suffer, He suffers with you. And He WILL answer your prayers, just be patient and keep praying.

Two, we should have the same heart toward those who are hurting. I'm not saying you should suddenly work up these feelings in yourself. I'm not saying pretend you have these feelings. I'm not saying fake it till you make it. I'm saying that we should allow God to work in our hearts, making them soft and full of compassion, so that when we meet those who need help, who are hurting, we are moved by our compassion, just as Jesus was. And that we act on that compassion, just like Jesus did.

God, please help us to be esplanchisthe.