There are a number of examples in the Bible where Jesus showed compassion to people in need. He saw their need and did something about it. Compassion is not just an emotion – it results in action.
Recently several members of our family personally responded with compassion to the crisis in Ukraine. We have seen images on TV and the Internet of buildings destroyed and thousands of refugees fleeing the war zone. Mother’s with babies and young children are struggling to board buses and trains. Older grandmothers appear confused and afraid in neighborhoods destroyed by bombs and missiles.
We may feel compassion for the people in Ukraine but what can we do to help? Our daughter and son-in-law serve with the non-profit organization Josiah Venture in Eastern Europe. They were able to use donated funds to purchase supplies at a large discount warehouse in their community and personally transport these items to Poland. Many other organizations and individuals are doing similar things throughout Europe to help those who are suffering in Ukraine.
In addition, our niece left her husband and children in central California to join a team with Samaritan’s Purse to help displaced people in western Ukraine. They flew from North Carolina to Poland on a plane filled with a Mobile Field Hospital. The mobile medical center was then transported into western Ukraine. Samaritan’s Purse brings help to hurting people all over the world. They even set up a Field Hospital in Central Park in New York City at the height of the Covid19 pandemic.
It is one thing to see the images of the war in Ukraine on TV and the Internet. It is easy to feel compassion for the millions of people who are affected by the Russian invasion of their country. But it is another thing to become personally involved by buying supplies and driving them to the people in need. It is one thing to pray for the refugees fleeing west away from the fighting. But it is another thing to fly a portable hospital to Poland and travel east into war torn Ukraine.
Let me encourage you to pray for peace in Ukraine. Pray for safety for innocent civilians fleeing bombed out cities. Pray for the volunteers rushing to bring help and comfort. Donate to reliable groups and organizations like Josiah Venture and Samaritan’s Purse that are bringing aid and comfort to Ukraine. You can find them on line. You will be glad you did and they will too.
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Let Me Encourage You by Mark Hopper 