Author, evangelist, social worker and gentleman, Tim Huff spoke tonight about RADICAL COMPASSION ... he said if you go to your closet and pull out a coat that is in good shape, but that you haven't worn in a while and donate it to a clothing drive or a charity helping the homeless you have enacted compassion and caring ...BUT, he said if you take your favourite coat and hand it to someone who has no coat and needs one THAT is RADICAL COMPASSION ...
As his words rolled over the hall and I watched the reactions of the people around me I noted that some nodded in agreement, some looked stony faced and others smiled uncomfortably ... as Tim challenged people to consider what radical compassion would look like everyone had a different reaction ... to me his words made sense ... compassion - radical compassion, is about LIVING our faith, and our faith is bound by some narrow dogmatic understanding of the Divine - faith is what lies in our heart and what motivates us ... Handing over your coat to someone who has none just makes sense to me ... and I realized it makes sense to the people who I have as friends ... and it makes sense to the people who resonate with my message and my ministry ... the others - those who can not nor will not understand radical compassion will respond to messages like Tim's (and mine) with anger ... with rejection ...and with stony silence that says - "that guy is crazy."
I'm glad I'm surrounded by the friends I have, and I'm very appreciative that I have had the privilege to work with people who hear messages like Tim's and react with one simple word - AMEN !!!
As I left the hall tonight, I thought of a story that Katie posted over at "at the half note" a year ago that shows that radical compassion is NOT limited only to those who sit in Church, but THANKFULLY is found among those who live with a sense of Holiness, whether they realize it or not ... (to read Katie's story click here)
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