The third and last element is compassion.
To me, this is by far, the most important and the real key of every miracle. Some people would call it love.…
God looks in the heart and acts according to what He finds and reads in there. What is in your heart? Why do you want to perform miracles? If it is to be known, for people to come from everywhere to see you and praise your spiritual exploits, in other words, if it is for your own glory that you are running after them, well, you are not near the end of your race. However, if without seeking the miracle, your heart always aches at the sight of those who suffer, if regularly, you lose your appetite because of someone else’ sufferings and you just keep on moaning and yearning that God relieves them, then you're very close to the miracle.
We no longer see a certain ‘breed’ of miracles because our hearts are hardened and have become insensitive to the misfortunes of others. Our Society – and the Church with it- has become so individualistic and so narcissistic that we are barely moved by the calamities that befall others. A plane crashes, an earthquake, floods, fire, a terrorist attack, a mass suicide, tens or hundreds of thousands of dead, and we hear of all these on the news as if they were talking about rising the price of bread – a thing that is even more susceptible to affect us than all the above (aforementioned) atrocities.
Compassion is the ability to ‘passion’ with, i.e. to suffer with. It is being able to put oneself into someone else’ shoes and feel – or at least try to feel – what he/she does. To exemplify this, the Bible often speaks of bubbling bowels or bowels that are moved.
It is therefore true that one can simply speak of love because, we can neither desire to be in, nor put ourselves in the shoes of somebody that we do not love. This is why missionaries used to leave everything behind and go to live the necessary time in the middle of those they wished to save and to bless, in the middle of those among whom they wished to see miracles.
We can give nothing to those we do not care about because, one gives with his heart. The life-changing gift (the miracle), is given with the heart. We cannot give (offer) Jesus to people that we don’t love and have not learned to love.
Indeed, almost whenever the Bible mentions a miracle, it is always preceded by a gesture of compassion. It is what usually caused God to intervene in the Old Testament:
Deuteronomy 30:3, “…then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you…”
2Kings 13:23, “But the LORD was gracious to them and had compassion on them, and he turned toward them...”
Isaiah 54:8, “I hid my face from you for a moment in a burst of anger, but I will have compassion on you with everlasting kindness," says the LORD your defender.”
Zechariah 1:16, “So the Lord says this: I have returned to Jerusalem with compassions; My house shall be built in it …”
Before most of Jesus’ miracles, we find the expression, “moved with compassion…”, clearly showing what was the source, the engine of (what was fuelling) His miracles.
When Peter ‘healed’ the lame in front of the Temple, the Bible says that he fastened his eyes on him. In other words, EVERYTHING ceased to matter at that minute; his world stopped: the only important thing, the only one that now mattered was the lame guy (Acts 3:4).
To resurrect the Shunammite’ son, Elisha prayed then, lay down on the child with his mouth, eyes and hands on his; and the kid's body warmed. His gestures somehow speak of a complete identification with the fate of another and the fact of becoming one with him/her in order to impart what one has, to him/her (cf. 2Rois 4:33-34).
“Let love be without hypocrisy” and also, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” (Romans 12:9, MKJV; Proverbs 4:23, ESV) A spring must always dispense pure waters. So, I ask again: what really motivates you when you pray for someone (if you even pray at all)? The secret desire that if it works, that person will be eternally grateful to you and will mention you everywhere or, the unique desire to see her/him seek your God and surrender to Him afterwards?
After making the list of spiritual gifts, -amongst which, the gift of working miracles- Paul showed the Corinthians that to get there (and get them), the excellent way was the way of love. And he said: “Now faith, hope, and love, these three things remain; but the greatest of these is love.” (1Corinthians 12 & 13). As you can see, according to this miracle-working man, charity, love is greater and far more important than faith.
It is really high time we ‘de-anaesthetize’ our hearts and bowels, so that they may (re)learn to shiver (quiver) for others.
I am fully aware that without faith, without the Word of God and without compassion, some occultists are capable of incredible performance (and the Bible has many such examples); still, I don’t call those miracles but magic. The works of these people are always followed by pain: they loose on one hand, and bind on the other hand. Meanwhile, the Lord’s miracle totally sets free its recipient; it enriches and is not followed by any sorrow (Proverbs 10:22): it is perfect.
There is no love without compassion and there is no compassion without love. You seek after miracles ? Well, seek compassion, seek love: NOTHING resists love!
“And above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness… above all things being fervent in your love among yourselves; for love covereth a multitude of sins.” (Colossians 3:14; 1Peter 4:8)
God bless you and make you be a Grace-carrier and miracles-working Christian.
No comments:
Post a Comment