true compassion

I realized something about compassion these past few days. When it says in the Bible that Jesus had compassion on people I really think it meant more than the fact that he felt sorry for them. I think it had to do with a deeper level of self denial and more of putting people first. My eye has pretty much flared back up to the point that the medical community has needles and Chemo as the next step for my condition. I have had a hard time mentally this past week dealing with some of that and trying to stay positive. Then I thought about what Jesus knew he was going to have to ultimately do in dying on the cross for our sins while he was on this earth while saving and helping people with their crap. I really believe that when we have compassion on someone we are literally putting our “stuff” away mentally to put others people’s needs in front of our own. Jesus was the ultimate example of this for us when he would put other people in front of himself. When we feel sorry for someone the greater question is what does it motivate us to do? Does it inspire us to take action in their lives or is it just something we feel and then slip back into our own world of pain and mental distractions? I am not saying that I have mastered this technique in any way, but am trying to work towards a place of denying my own crap to put others first and help them with their walk in life. I would hope that God would put those same kinds of people in my life to encourage me and help me in this journey that I am walking as well.