” . . . minds often remain closed to truth until hearts have been opened by compassion. There is certainly a place for logical, left-brained explanations of faith. But compassion is the ultimate apologetic. There is no defense against it.”- Mark Batterson
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your hearty of stone and give you a hear of flesh.”- Ezekiel 36:26
In Chapter 2 (“The Tribe of the Transplanted”) of Primal, Mark Batterson opens with an observation about heart transplant patients. Research concluded, Pastor Batterson states, that transplant recipients receive more than a new heart. In addition, they receive entirely new sensory responses, cravings, and habits. Author Charles Siebert refers to these patients as “the tribe of the transplanted.”
Likewise, when, through the power of the Holy Spirit, you give your heart to Jesus, Christ gives His heart to you. Thus, you become part of the tribe of the transplanted. Quite literally, you feel different. Because you feel what Christ feels. And compassion stands as chief of those sanctified emotions.
However, numbers are not only dehumanizing, but also desensitizing. For example, those imprisoned in German concentration camps lost their names, receiving a number instead. And when suffering doesn’t have a face, it’s easy to ignore. Pastor Batterson explains:
“”If you are in Christ and Christ is in you, you cannot be okay with suffering or injustice or starvation. Why? Because His heart is in you. And His heart beats for the suffering, the victim, the poor, and the needy. If you are a Christ follower, then you have been drafted into an army of compassion that know no enemy but those things that break the heart of God.”
Today’s question : How do you see compassion as the ultimate apologetic? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Compassion – always the right reaction”
