Compassion means demonstrating concern, kindness, and caring with a willingness to reach out to help others. In its more commonly used sense, compassion has been defined as “sympathetic pity and concern for the suffering or misfortunes of others.” Compassion incorporates love, thoughtfulness, gentleness, tenderness, commitment, and mercy. In speaking of God’s faithfulness, the prophet Jeremiah wrote this about God’s compassion: “It is because of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning, great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).
God’s compassion in salvation is not at all based on our worth or worthiness, but rather on the fact that we were all “lost sinners” and desperately in need of a Savior who would reconcile sinful man to Holy God, thus having the assurance of sins forgiven and eternal life.
The Bible says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him [Jesus] the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). Because of our transgressions and iniquities, we went astray and walked in self-will. Therefore, God, placed these on His Son Jesus Christ. The Bible states that God is of “purer eyes than to “look with favor upon evil and cannot look upon iniquity” (Habakkuk 1:13). We must remember that God is holy and we are unholy, therefore, “your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have have hidden His face from you” (Isaiah 59:2).
Under the topic, “The Old Testament God of Compassion and Mercy,” Dr. Miles Van Pelt wrote,
“Mercy and compassion are rooted in the very character of God. His law commands it. Wisdom teaches it. The prophets enjoin it and the Psalms applaud it. Of course, the fullest expression of the mercy of God is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ, the compassion of God incarnate. But the New Testament does not represent a departure from the Old Testament at this point, but rather the arrival of its fullest expectation.” (Dr Van Pelt is associate professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Ms.).
I am reminded of an old hymn whose lyrics I quote: “We praise then our God, How rich is His grace, We were far from Him once – estranged from His face. By blood we are purchased, are cleansed and made nigh and blest in Christ Jesus – our Savior on high? The hymn highlights the fact that before salvation, we were strangers to God and His grace. Then the shed blood of Christ Jesus our Savior was applied, cleansed and made us right with God.