Compassion - An Oft Neglected Plea

“And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.” (Mr 9:22 AV)

 

Upon no greater grounds can someone plea to the LORD than His compassion.  Here, a father is at his wit’s end with his teenage son who is taken with an evil spirit.  This father is a Gentile, no less.  He is not as well versed in the scriptures as a Hebrew would be and thus when he asks the LORD for a miracle, it is based upon the testimony of others in what Jesus as done and not necessarily a conviction founded upon the scriptures.  He does have belief.  And, he has more than he thinks he does.  The grounds upon which this father intercedes for his son is the compassion and mercy of God.  To him, the moral attribute of mercy is far more real to him than the physical attribute of omnipotence.  Whenever I read this passage, I am moved by this man’s prayer.  I am moved that he understood the moral nature of Jesus Christ and plead the compassion of God.  This is why I made the opening statement.  It would be hard for the LORD to say ‘no’ to a request which depended upon His mercy to see it come to pass.

As a parent, you often know the limits of your children’s abilities more than they do.  My high school days were filled with choices.  I don’t know if that is the case anymore.  In the first two years, the student’s classes were pretty much decided.  There was very little flexibility.  However, once Junior year rolled around, the student could begin to pick and choose which classes he was more interested in or which would better prepare him for life or college.  Since my home state required four years of science, I had to choose.  Freshmen year was Introduction to Physical Science.  Sophomore year was Biology.  Everyone had to take those two.  However, after those two were out of the way, then came other choices.  There was earth science, computer science, chemistry, and physics.  You could even double up on some sciences in your Freshman and Sophomore years so Junior and Senior years could be less classwork or electives.  Anyway, all of my older siblings took Chemistry in their Junior years.  However, staring at the periodic table during my Freshman and Sophomore years, I knew there was absolutely no way I would pass that class.  I am not a good memorizer in the least.  If I can read the scriptures and memorize verses in context, that is doable.  But to require rote memorization, to me, is impossible.  Late August rolled around and we received our course selection worksheet in the mail.  I knew a difficult meeting lay ahead.  My father is not one to allow us to take the easy way out.  My plan was to substitute Chemistry with more computer science.  That was his trade.  But, I knew him well.  It was a long shot, to say the least.  I was preparing for a lecture sprinkled with a bit of frustration, anger, or disappointment.  So, with those big brown puppy-dog eyes I have, I went to my father as he sat in his office, explained how fearful I was at failing chemistry fully expecting the third degree, and almost prechecking chemistry on my list.  After a lengthy plea and laying out a plan for him to see, he simply said ‘OK’.  I was stunned!  My father actually had mercy on me and let me off the hook.  I appealed to his sense of compassion and he said yes!  What father could say ‘no’ to big brown sad eyes?

Pleading God’s mercy should be done only when there is cause.  What do I mean by that?  Salvation is definitely a cause for compassion.  In the case above, there is no other hope this father has.  Both have something in common.  In both situations, the one seeking God’s compassion has or had nowhere else to turn.  The other factor that is common in both was the will of God.  Herein the application.  When we are at the end of what we or anyone else can do and there seems to be no resolution, then plead the compassion of God!  Be careful though.  Don’t plead the mercy or compassion of God in a frustrated spirit that seems to accuse God of not caring.  “Father, if you really cared, you would do something about this” is not a way to go about asking for God’s mercy.  What this father did was to ask Jesus to exercise His compassion, not for himself, but for the needs of his son.  As a father, his compassion was moved for his son.   He was merely asking the heavenly Father to do what he knew could be done.  A humble and completely dependent request which a loving God could not decline.