Psalm 146:5-10

“The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.” vs. 9

There’s a thread of compassion that runs all the way through our scripture from beginning to end. The people of God in every age have known in their hearts that God watches over people on the fringes in a special way, and that it is their duty to reflect that concern in their care for widows, orphans, and strangers. We may have seen that caring spirit in our congregations as they’ve welcomed refugee families and helped them to adjust to our confusing communities.  And now as millions of people are being displaced by the outright wickedness of oppressors those needs for compassion are increasing. As we wait for God’s promised ruin of the wicked we can be confident that our hospitality will continue to be tested. Now some have said that we’ve already done enough, that we should start turning away the needy and take care of ourselves, that it’s even dangerous to keep on welcoming strangers. It is true that it is tiring to serve…even Jesus needed to get away for rest. We’re bound to feel some degree of “compassion fatigue.” But the real danger comes when we abandon our God-given ministry of caring…because if we don’t help, there’s no one who will!

Thought for the Day: What is “compassion fatigue”?