Unpacking the Power of Compassion

Blog by Gem Fadling

I am well past the child-bearing years. My sons are full-grown adults. But those long-ago days of pregnancy and little people are still as fresh in my memory as ever. I can still picture their little cherub faces and tiny chiclet teeth. And I can remember how their hair smelled like cookies until they were about five years old. (Yes, even dirty, stinky boys can have cookie hair!)

All of this brings to mind Isaiah 49:15: 

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
    and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
    I will not forget you!”

I love this passage because it’s such a huge, undeniable promise. The rhetorical question has an ever-present answer: Of course a mother would never forget her nursing baby! Of course a mother would have compassion on all of her children.

God is saying that even if a mother were to forget her children (which she won’t), God will never forget us. God is doubling down on how much he wants us to know that he will never withhold his love for us. God’s compassion is sure, and we will not be forgotten.

This is important for us to hold on to as we continue to make our way through life. I don’t know about you, but I’m hearing more often about the suffering of the people around me. Life is difficult in many different ways for many people.

And yet, in the midst of this is the good news: You are not forgotten.

This means you are remembered with compassion. Let’s hold on to this truth and allow it to change us from the inside out. The first person to whom you could show compassion is yourself. How you treat yourself is often how you treat others, so receiving your own compassion is a great place to start.

And let’s also extend compassion to those around us. We aren’t the only ones who are anxious, tired, or overwhelmed. Let’s extend this compassionate love to everyone we come into contact with in our home, our neighborhood, on social media, through a Zoom conference, or in a grocery store line.

The assurance “You are not forgotten” speaks directly to our hearts. We long to be seen, heard, known, and loved. And God meets us in that very place. What will it look like for you to receive today?

For Reflection: 

• Whether you are a parent or not, think of someone special in your life—someone you would never turn your back on, someone you would never forget.
• How do you feel about that person? How deeply do you love them?
• Now imagine that your love is just a fraction of how much God loves you (and the whole world).
• How might you encounter God today in light of his compassionate, I’ll-never-forget-you love?

Even if the people you love don’t have “cookie-smelling hair,” your commitment to them is sure. And even if you yourself don’t have a “cherub face” or “chiclet teeth,” God’s love for you is unquestionable. And don’t you forget it.