Marvels & Musings

"Understanding compassion- what it means to walk that out every instance. Choosing the right habit when it's easy, but then continuing to choose it the second it gets hard. Like where desperate joy for the things of God turns into straight up desperation. A crying out of, " God! I am in need!" Compassion for those you want to serve, for those you are serving with as a family, and receiving it from the one who sent you to serve in the first place."

I found this little unfinished blurb. A revelation from 'wandering' around Hilo with people I barely knew. Friends I can now call family. As I remember (what I like to call 'Team Asia's sketch faith journey'...you can ask me about it sometime if you have no clue what I am talking about), it reminds me of how much hope I can have. Because each and every day the things that I learned there are still true.

I am still experiencing the depths of what it means to have compassion and how it feels to embrace it.

I have been reading Romans lately. So many things strike me. The simple Gospel. God's promises. His goodness. How just He really is. Most of all his compassion on us. Gentiles. Slaves. People who get to be sons because the firstborn messed up. Grafted in, awaiting the original branches return. Oh man, and how glorious the fruit of Father's compassion on them will be!

I love when Romans turns back to Hosea, mostly because I love Hosea.
Concerning the Gentile , God says in the prophecy of Hosea, 
"Those who were not my people, 
I will now call my people. 
And I will love those
whom I did not love before."
And,
"Then , at the place where they were told,
'You are not my people,'
there they will be called
'children of the living God.'" *

Paul goes on to explain how Israel, the firstborn, will see the Gentiles partaking in their promise. Their jealousy will be roused by those who were not even looking for God but found him. By those who weren't even asking, yet God revealed himself to them. In the end, God is faithful to His people and good to those who in the beginning were not. His compassion rains down   . . .no. . . floods down upon them both (Romans10:19-11:15).

He is a compassionate God. Making us a compassionate people.
wow.

* Romans 9:25-26, The SourceView Bible