Thankful Thursday--Compassion

I am very tired tonight--H&H haven't slept through the night all week, and being up for an hour or two in the night is just something I'm not up to right now. So I figured I'd go with Iris's theme for Thankful Thursday this week--compassion. Then I thought, no, I should make myself do the next chapter of Colossians...and lo and behold, compassion showed up there too!! Funny how God works that out... :)

Colossians 3:11-15

Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Thanks that we live in a society that we don't even fully know what it means to be Greek or Jew, Scythian, slave or free.

Praise be to God that he doesn't discriminate based upon nationality, outward appearance, position in society. Thanks for my experiences in graduate school, living and working with a diverse group of people (ok, so we were all smart) so that I could learn how much skin color doesn't matter. Thanks for the research exchange to Korea, so I could learn what it means to be a stranger in a strange land.

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Thanks for choosing us, God! Thanks for the compassion that Jesus modelled--he didn't just see need, but he had compassion, sending out his disciples to shepherd them, heal them, and fed them. Thanks for organizations such as Compassion International that raise our awareness of needs around the world and give us an opportunity to make a difference.

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Thanks that you forgive us! The previous verse is so convicting--how many times have I not had compassion, been kind, shown humility, used gentle words, and been patient?? Too many to tell. Thank you for friendships that survive the years and the instances of forgiveness.

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Thanks for Patrick and the rest of our extended family. Thanks that you loved us to send your Son, even when we didn't deserve it. Thanks for marriage, and the opportunity to show and receive that same kind of love, sometimes on a daily basis.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.

Thanks for peace amid the storm, the kind of peace that can only come from you. Thanks that our church distinguishes between the fundamentals of the faith and the things that Christians can disagree about, and promotes unity and peace in the body.

And be thankful.

Thanks for all the ways you've blessed us this week. Thanks for protection from the storm, a warm house, and provision beyond our needs. Thanks for working things out exactly as Patrick envisioned them for his job. Thanks for computers, and that I don't have to do our taxes by hand (I wish I could be thankful that they were done, but maybe next week!)