As we strive to live and love like Jesus, we try to emulate the way He lived and the way He treated people. Through the consistent examples of Jesus having compassion for people, it’s very evident that He noticed those around Him. The word compassion comes from its phonetic roots in the Latin, “com” (with) and “pati” (suffering), life with suffering or life with pain.

When Jesus saw the blind men, He “had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him” (Matthew 20:34). When He saw groups yearning for His teaching, “He had compassion on them and healed their sick” (Matthew 14:14). Christ noted the confusion of the people in the crowd following him, and “had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34). Jesus was a master of compassionate awareness!

Instead of being self-absorbed by our feelings, problems, worries, and desires, we want to be people who focus on the needs of those God puts in our path and take the opportunity to serve them.

Ask God to help us increase our awareness of others!

Read Philippians 2:3-5. What is God teaching you?