Lenten Reader | Day 27

As a missionary at Tenwek Hospital in Kenya, I have often heard stories of the first doctor here, Dr. Ernie Steury. Patients were coming to the hospital from far and wide, so one day Dr. Steury asked a patient why she passed so many other hospitals to come to Tenwek. She answered, “Because Daktari, here the hands are kind.”

Compassion is an action word. It means joining in the suffering of another through emotional support, physical aid, or simply being present for someone in distress. The triune God is the source of true compassion.

I was recently talking to a woman named Joyce who I know well from caring for her daughter. She told me about a time in 2004 when she was diagnosed with HIV. She tried to kill herself by overdosing on medications. Her family had left her for dead and prepared for the funeral. A visitor found her, realized that she was alive, and took her to Tenwek where she was admitted to the ICU and eventually released. A missionary nurse named Ruth visited her in her home regularly, cared for her, started medications, and addressed her spiritual issues. Despite Joyce’s many problems, she became well and today is an incredibly joyful person. She still vividly remembers the compassionate hands of Ruth.

To have this kind of compassion, one must dwell in the Father’s love through prayer and meditation, have the eyes of Jesus to see the distressed and downcast, and be filled to overflowing with the power of the Holy Spirit for discernment and strength for action. King David wrote in Psalms 103, verses 3 and 4, “He is the one…who crowns you with his loyal love and compassion.”

Steve Manchester