II Cor. 2:3-5- "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.  For just as the suffering of Christ flows over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows." 

Matt-

He looked up at me; eyes filled with tears and fear.  I saw pain through those two telling blue windows.  Paralyzed!  Panic!  My mind worked 8 million miles a minute.  But nothing of use came.  I just looked at him.  He looked at the ground.  Then, without warning, something strange happened.  I felt what he felt.  A door opened to a space inside me I could never draw a map to.  And in that room were his emotions.  Oh God, there was so much happening in his small soul.  I mean, Jesus, how could he explain it?  And for Christ's sake, he could not understand it!!  But somehow he knew I felt what he felt.  And when I reached my hand to his shoulder a spark of genuine connection lit.  Compassion. 

This story happened a couple days ago when the captain of my U14 boy's soccer team wanted to quit because "he wasn't a good enough leader" … he's a great leader with a lot of potential!  Afterward, I thought a lot about my interaction with him.  Yet, I didn't really know how to categorize it.  Then, this morning, while reflecting on Paul's proposition: "Jesus is the father of all compassion and the God of all comfort," I had a physiological reaction.  It seemed strange to me that words written thousands of years ago concerning a man I've "never met" could induce a response such as it did.  But it did!!  I felt strangely warm and wonderful!  And suddenly, my moment with Matt made sense. 

I love life today!  I feel so much hope.  Something strange is happening around my heart.  I find it exhilarating.

I believe compassion is glory unveiled.  It happens when the tether of loneliness breaks loose.  Intimacy releases at a rapid rate!  And the heart becomes surrounded by joy. 

Paul says Jesus is the father of compassion.  I guess that means he spends most of his time in eternity feeling what human beings feel.  That seems pretty ridiculous to me!  Why would God want to feel what I feel all the time?  Seriously, if I had ultimate sovereignty and a Ferrari, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't spend my days in the heart-space of those around me, encapsulated by their emotions.  But I guess that's why I'm merely an infant of compassion and not the father of it.  Jesus invented the sport.  And he plays at an incredible level. 

There are moments, like this morning, I honestly believe all this Bible stuff.  I and God connect.  Beauty!  I long for those moments and hours.  To take a deep drink from the ladle of Divine love displayed in connection is perhaps my ultimate desire.  I am me, then.