God Commands Compassion
By Jon Walker
And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” Exodus 33:19 (NIV)
Our Creator, Yahweh, who “causes to be,” has the right to show you compassion, or not.
He is the final word in the universe, the Supreme-being Supreme Court, and he properly proclaims, “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion” (Exodus 33:19 HCSB).
Dear Jesus-one, this doesn’t mean God plays favorites, like, “I’ll give compassion to the ones I like, and leave the others in their misery.” It means he has the right to decide who gets compassion. It’s his call and his decision is final.
But before we start telling God how to be God, we need to understand the deep point: we don’t get to decide who gets God’s compassion and who doesn’t.
Compassion flows from God’s nature into us, and then—at least this is the way it’s supposed to work—that compassion should flow from us to others. We’re just stewards of God’s compassion, and we don’t have the right to withhold God’s compassion from others.
God’s compassion is not yours to keep. You have no right to block God’s compassion, in essence, saying, “God you don’t know that person as well as I think I do; he doesn’t deserve your compassion.”
God’s compassion is never wasted. You’re not in the right position to accurately judge whether God’s compassion will be wasted. He’s got the God’s-eye-view. When Jesus poured his blood, like a drink offering, into your life, was that compassion wasted on you? How, then, could it be wasted on another?
If you’d like to receive these devotionals regularly, you can sign-up at www.gracecreates.com/subscribe/. Jon Walker writes from www.gracecreates.com. He is a Zondervan author, and the former writer/editor of the Purpose Driven Life On-Line Devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2008 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.
