Is Compassion Seasonal?

Here’s a question for Christmas: Is compassion seasonal?

How many people do you know who are conscientious in serving people in need at Christmas but do not give it much thought at other times? Is compassion ministry another item on our Christmas To-Do list like shopping, attending parties, and the Christmas Eve service at church?

Benevolent ministry leaders are quick to lament the fact that so many people seem motivated to serve others only at Christmas. We talk about the need, even the desire, to have the Christmas spirit year round — which presumably would include serving people in need — but does it happen?

When Jesus said, “Inasmuch as you have done it [given clothes to the naked, visited the sick or imprisoned, given food for the hungry], you have done it for me,” he wasn’t thinking about Christmas.

When he told those in his hometown of Nazareth what he would be doing in his public ministry (Luke 4: 18-19) and, by implication, announced what his followers would do, he was not talking about Christmas.

How DO we perpetuate that onlinepharmacies247.com/imitrex.html part of the Christmas spirit that motivates us to serve people in need year round?

It begins with an understanding that compassion ministry is an indispensable part of being a follower of Jesus.  All of Scripture makes that clear, especially the Gospels.

In the remaining days of this Christmas, when most of the hectic stuff is over, why not spend a little time reflecting on how to extend the Christmas spirit well into 2012?

As you think about what you’d like to accomplish in the New Year, why not re-read the Gospel of Luke, the most compassionate of the Gospels, and listen to God’s voice to you?

The Inasmuch ministry is about motivating, equipping and deploying believers throughout the Kingdom into lifestyle compassion ministry—serving people in need using one’s life experiences, passions and skills as a matter lifestyle.

To put it another way, Inasmuch Life perpetuates that part of the Christmas spirit which leads us all to be more compassionate and generous than normal. Inasmuch Life means keeping the spirit of Christmas all the time.

Merry Christmas from the Inasmuch Team.