As Christ-followers, we hold close to our hearts the call to be people of compassion and love. And even though we are in isolation, and our methods may need to change, the call still remains. Some days it can be difficult and even discouraging to mourn the ways we used to be able to serve those around us. And maybe, amidst all the worry and change, it’s been difficult to focus on and even think of how to continuing becoming that person of compassion that God’s called you to be.
We’re here to remind you that you’re not alone! Who Jesus calls, He will equip. Here are some inspiring quotes from some of our favourite books and resources to keep you inspired and reminded of the call to lead lives of compassion.
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“At the core, Jesus’ life was about sacrifice and service rather than glory and honour, and that is what He calls us to. This means rethinking our idea of success and our belief that the opposite of economic poverty is wealth. It means rethinking that the North American way of life is the goal—for us or for those who live in poverty. Author and theologian Henri Nouwen called the way of Christ “downward mobility.” If we are to be like Jesus, we too are to move downward—to serve and sacrifice.”
–Eyes to See: Reflecting God’s Love To A World In Need, Compassion Canada
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“Compassion challenges us to cry out with those in misery, to mourn with those who are lonely, to weep with those in tears. Compassion requires us to be weak with the weak, vulnerable with the vulnerable, and powerless with the powerless. Compassion means full immersion in the condition of being human.”
– Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life, Henri Nouwen
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“Living from enough begins by discovering that we belong to Jesus.”
–Step Into My Shoes, Compassion Canada
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“We must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time; we can be responsible only for the one action of the present moment. But we can beg for an increase of love in our hearts that will vitalize and transform all our individual actions, and know that God will take them and multiply them, as Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes.”
–The Reckless Way of Love: Notes on Following Jesus, Dorothy Day
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“Things can seem pretty bleak looking at what’s messed up in our world. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, to want to help but have no idea where to even start. And sometimes it’s tempting for us to throw up our hands and just say, “Who cares?” But God cares. Even though humanity’s actions have turned the beautiful and perfect world God created upside down, God didn’t quit. He didn’t throw it all in the garbage and start over. Instead, He made a promise to fix the mess we made.”
–True Story: What God Wants Us To Do About Poverty, Compassion Canada
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“God wants me to love the ones I don’t understand, to get to know their names. To invite them to do things with me. To go and find the ones everyone has shunned and turned away. To see them as my neighbours even if we are in totally different places.”
–Everybody, Always, Bob Goff
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“The real issue confronting us is whether the news of God’s abundance can be trusted in the face of the story of scarcity.”
–The Liturgy of Abundance, The Myth of Scarcity, Walter Brueggeman
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“Evidence of the presence of the Kingdom of God is thick wherever and whenever people stand on the promise of God that there is more to this world—more to this life—than what we see. There is more than the getting over, getting by or getting mine. There is more than the brokenness, the destruction, and the despair that threaten to wash over us like the waters of the deep. There is a vision of a world where God cuts through the chaos, where God speaks and there is light. There is a vision where there is protection and where love is binding every relationship together. There is a call for humanity to exercise dominion over self and the rest of creation in a way that serves all, not just self. And there is a promise that as long as we follow God’s way, there will be life, healing and love.”
-The Very Good Gospel, Lisa Sharon Harper
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“God’s definition of what matters is pretty straightforward. He measures our lives by how we love.”
–Crazy Love, Francis Chan
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“We need to allow others into our neat and tidy world. To recognize that God has called us to carry one another’s burdens. To open our hearts to our global family and the community in which God has placed us. Because as we all contribute, we begin to mend the broken relationships that characterize our world.”
–Eyes to See: Reflecting God’s Love To A World In Need, Compassion Canada
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