Open Your Eyes | Force=Mass*Acceleration
Main Verse:
"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.”
- James 1:22-24, NIV
Main Points:
1. There is a difference between compassion and pity.
2. Familiarity should not lead to contempt but compassion instead.
3. Love for others is inherently compassionate at its core; you can give without loving, but you can’t love without giving.
4. The Mission (Force) is (=) the product of Workers (Mass) * Love (Acceleration)!
Action Steps:
1. Carefully consider if you see others with compassion which leads to loving action and, if so, contemplate how you might go even further in loving action for others; if not, prayerfully search the Scripture for Jesus’ example of compassionate loving action and see how you can follow that example.
2. Go!
Questions:
1. What is the fundamental difference between pity and compassion?
2. Why is it that love requires sacrifice? How did God put this truth into action?
3. Can we really be Christians if we aren’t willing to have compassion for others by sacrificing and giving in loving action? What does this kind of action look like in the local community context?