Compassion....

I saw this photo last week, read the story and cried.

It's a photo of a man giving a homeless girl his shoes.

I cried because of the gesture.  

I cried because it was so different from the norm that it made the news. 

I cried because she cried.  

I cried because a little girl like this is homeless.  

Compassion is such an important thing in the lives of humans.  We all need it...the love of another, the love of God...we all need and want compassion...it's vital to our lives, to our very existence....and yet it's so seldom seen.

The model of this has always been God himself.  He modeled it for us best in Christ, God in human flesh, as he reached out and touched the needy, met their needs, wept for them, loved them.  And he calls us to imitate him!  He calls us to compassion, to love for those around us...ESPECIALLY those who don't know him yet.

This photo is a rich blessing, but I want it to be the norm for each of us, I want it to be the way we live...just as Christ...

"...be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma."  -Ephesians 5:1-2