One of the easiest things to do when we see someone struggling is to explain why they are in that situation. We can analyse their choices, identify what they should have done differently, or quietly conclude that they are simply experiencing the consequences of their actions. And sometimes, our conclusions may even be correct. Yet there is a difference between correctly understanding someone's condition and possessing the heart of Christ towards them in that condition.

Kindness and compassion are closely related, but they are not the same. Kindness is the gracious disposition that seeks to treat people well; compassion is awakened particularly by another person's pain, weakness, suffering or need. It does more than recognise what they are going through; it enters their experience sufficiently to be moved towards them. Perhaps one of the simplest ways to understand compassion is empathy in motion.

Scripture repeatedly presents this quality in Jesus. Matthew says that when He saw the multitudes, “he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). When a leper approached Him, Jesus was “moved with compassion” and reached out to touch him (Mark 1:41). When He encountered a widow whose only son had died, “he had compassion on her” (Luke 7:13). Jesus did not merely observe human suffering accurately; He allowed what He saw to move Him.

Compassion Feels With People

This is what distinguishes compassion from mere empathy or detached sympathy. Sympathy may acknowledge, “That is unfortunate.” Empathy may say, “I can feel with you and understand your pain.” Compassion goes a step further. It moves closer and says, in effect, “Your pain matters to me, and I am willing to respond to it.”

Hebrews gives us a remarkable picture of Christ in this regard: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities” (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus is not distant from human weakness. He understands sorrow, temptation, rejection, weariness and suffering from the experience of having entered our humanity. Hebrews also says that because “he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18). He identifies, He understands, and therefore He helps. That is compassion.

It is not merely the ability to identify another person's emotion; it is allowing that understanding to influence the way we respond. This is why Paul instructs us, “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep” (Romans 12:15). Christian love does not remain emotionally detached from the experiences of others.

This can be particularly challenging when we believe the person’s suffering resulted from poor choices. Our assessment may even be right, but being correct does not remove the call to compassion. Jesus could recognise sin without losing sight of the sinner.

When the woman caught in adultery was brought before Him, He did not redefine her sin. He eventually told her, “Go, and sin no more” (John 8:11). Yet neither did He join those who wanted to turn her failure into public destruction. Compassion does not require us to call wrong right; it affects the spirit with which we handle people when they are wrong, wounded or weak.

Compassion Sees Beyond the Attitude

One reason compassion is necessary is that we often see people's actions without knowing the full story behind them. We encounter the behaviour, but not always the burden that may be influencing it. We see the angry response, but not necessarily the wound beneath it. We see a repeated struggle and wonder why they cannot simply “get over it”, while knowing very little about the battle taking place within them. Compassion slows down judgement long enough to consider the person.

Paul writes, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (Galatians 6:1). We should never become so absorbed in the areas where we seem to be getting things right that we lose sight towards the genuine struggles of others.

When a beggar approaches us for help, for instance, our immediate disposition should not always be, “Why don’t they go and work?” or “These people are simply lazy.” Compassion does not require us to abandon wisdom or discernment, but it does require us to resist the urge to pass judgment. Sometimes, before people need our conclusions, they need our consideration.

Spiritual maturity doesn’t make us increasingly irritated by weak people. If anything, awareness of how patiently God has dealt with us should make us more patient with others.

Paul therefore writes, “Put on therefore… bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering” (Colossians 3:12). Compassion sits naturally alongside humility because it recognises that none of us stands entirely apart from the need for mercy.

Compassion Moves

The Good Samaritan did not simply recognise that the wounded man was suffering. Jesus says, “when he saw him, he had compassion on him” (Luke 10:33). He then moved toward him, bound his wounds, transported him to safety, and paid for his care. His compassion became practical. This is where empathy becomes Christian action.

John writes, “Whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” He then says, “Let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:17–18).

Compassion may take the form of financial help, a meal, a visit, a listening ear, a phone call, advocacy, encouragement, or simply being present.

Whenever someone comes to me for help, I often find myself asking a question I believe I once read in a book: “What does this person see in me that makes them believe I have the capacity to help?” The answer may not always be money. Perhaps they believe I have some influence, can make a call on their behalf, offer useful counsel, provide encouragement, or help point them towards a solution. The very fact that someone reaches out may suggest that they perceive in us some capacity to bring a measure of relief or resolution.

Ultimately, not every burden that comes before us is ours to carry or solve completely. But love should make us willing to ask, “Is there something appropriate within my capacity that I can do?”

Compassion Bears Burdens

Paul summarises the practical nature of compassion when he writes, “Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).

To bear a burden means that another person's difficulty is no longer treated as completely irrelevant to us. We may not be able to remove it, but where possible, we help carry some of its weight.

This does not mean taking responsibility for every problem around us or abandoning healthy boundaries. Jesus Himself sometimes withdrew from crowds to rest and pray. Compassion is not the inability to say no. Neither is it allowing people to continually abuse, manipulate or irresponsibly transfer their obligations to us. But there is a difference between healthy boundaries and a hardened heart.

The danger is becoming so protective of our time, resources and convenience that nobody else's suffering is ever allowed to disturb us.

Jesus was often interrupted. Jairus approached Him while He was moving. The woman with the issue of blood interrupted that journey. Blind Bartimaeus cried loudly for His attention. Crowds followed Him when He withdrew. Again and again, Jesus demonstrated that people were not merely interruptions to His ministry; the people were part of His ministry.

Becoming Compassionate

Compassion is ultimately one of the expressions of the character of Christ that must increasingly become visible in us. Peter writes, “Be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous” (1 Peter 3:8). Zechariah similarly commands, “Shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother” (Zechariah 7:9).

The question, therefore, is not merely whether we can identify suffering, but what happens within us when we encounter it. Can another person's pain still move us? Can we listen without immediately judging? Can we correct without becoming cruel? Can we encounter weakness without developing superiority? Can we make room for someone else's burden when love requires it?

This is what we repeatedly see in Jesus. He saw people, He felt with them, and where appropriate, He moved towards their need. Compassion is love entering another person's pain and refusing to remain unmoved.