Whom Do You Admire?
Ruth Ann Stites, Staff Writer
We all need heroes, people we can point to and say, “I want to be like that.” While there are many exceptional people in the church now and throughout history, it’s sometimes hard to distinguish which person is worthy of being a hero given the differences in beliefs and affiliations of those who have followed the Lord Jesus. John Wesley gives us some worthwhile wisdom in choosing people to admire. He wrote:
“Only see that your heart be right toward God; and you know and love the Lord Jesus Christ; that you love your neighbor, and walk as your master walked; I desire no more. I am sick of opinions, I am weary to bear them. My Soul hates this frothy food. Give me solid and substantial religion. Give me an humble, gentle lover of God and man [sic]; a man of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy; a man laying himself out in the work of faith, the patience of hope, the labour of love. Let my soul be with these Christians wheresoever they are, and whatever opinion they are of.”[1]
To borrow from the Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:8-9, look for people who are true to the Lord, noble in their actions, standing for what is right in God’s sight, who value purity, live lives of love, and are admirable and praiseworthy in their ways. These are the kind of people who, like Paul himself, it is safe to imitate. As we do, as Paul says at the end of this chapter in verse 9, we become more worthy of imitation ourselves and have “the God of peace” with us.
There are many words we could choose to embody a hero, but how about this one: compassion. This word suggests deep feelings of sorrow and sympathy for others wedded to a desire to help them in their difficulties. More than just empathy or pity, compassion moves us toward action because we feel responsibility to alleviate the distress of others. Jesus had compassion on the people who came to Him, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt. 9:36). And also, He had compassion on those who rejected Him, “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, ‘If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes’” (Luke 19:41-42). Not only did He weep, He went to the cross for the people of Jerusalem. Jesus never separated action from His compassionate feelings.[2]
So, let’s pick our role models from those who imitate the Master by their compassion on those surrounding them in their suffering multitudes. Regardless of where we find them, if they show they are Cross Disciples, let us learn from them about what it means to be compassionate people who show the love of God to all they encounter.
(Photo credit: R. A. Stites, Will Rogers Museum, Claremore, OK)
[1] Quoted from Council of Bishops: Unity in the Church: Sacred or Scandalous? Emphasis added.
[2] Some other verses addressing Jesus’s compassion include Luke 7:13; Matthew 15:32; Mark 1:41.
