Compassion is a good thing. When we feel concern for another person we try to understand what they must be feeling. That helps us know how to offer comfort and love. Do you remember times when you fell and hurt yourself or felt very sad and someone comforted you? A hug or a kind word helps and makes us feel as if someone cares.
There are people who group together to show compassion for others. One group is called Habitat for Humanity. They build houses for people who need homes. Can you think of others? Yes, our churches show compassion for people in need in many ways. When Jesus was traveling with his disciples he saw a woman whose son had died. He felt so much compassion for her that he performed a miracle and brought her son back to life. No one asked him to do this. Jesus showed us, in the way he lived his life, the meaning of compassion.
This man of strong faith believed that Jesus could heal his servant even though he had no way to prove that it would happen. Each one of us may choose to believe in the power and love of Jesus, even though we cannot absolutely prove it. That's faith.
The soldier surprised Jesus! Jesus was surprised at how much this soldier trusted him. He was glad that the soldier had such faith in him. Jesus healed the soldier’s servant and everyone was glad. Then Jesus told all the people who were following him around that they should learn to have the kind of faith that the soldier had; they must learn to trust Jesus as much as that soldier did—the soldier who surprised Jesus!
When Jesus says that good people produce good fruit, he doesn’t mean fruit like apples and cherries. Jesus means that if we are following him and trying to do the things that make God happy, we will do good things. We will help people, share what we have, and treat every person with respect.
What do all of these cartoon characters have in common? It is this: they entertain us and make us laugh, but not one of them is real. We all love Mickey Mouse, however he does not look like a real mouse or act as a real mouse would. Real ducks do not talk like Donald Duck. It is exciting to watch Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner chase each other, but we would never do the things they do. These are pretend characters that are imitations of the real thing. Our Bible lesson today is about being real.
If you choose to give your friend the larger piece you are a generous person. You know about generosity. We could say that generosity is when you give something to another person without expecting to receive anything in return. We can be generous in many ways. Let’s make a list.
God is good to everybody not just the people who do nice things. God loves all of us, all the time. It makes God unhappy when we do bad things, but God still loves us. God's love is very strong, Think about that. Talk to your mom or dad about God's love, ask them some questions. It is an important thing to think about, because God's love is wonderful, and God loves you.
In the Bible Jesus spoke to a great crowd of people. One of the things he said to them was, "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh" (6:21). He was speaking to those who felt sad and he wanted them to know that in the kingdom of God things would be different. For a time they might feel sadness and cry, but in God's kingdom there is laughter. Jesus also gave hope to people who were poor, those who were hungry, and those who were disliked because they followed him. He said, "Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven…" (6:23).
Jesus had work for these men to do––and so he said, "From now on you will be catching people" (vs. 10). Doesn't that sound strange? Jesus was telling his disciples that they would be fishing for people. They would do that by sharing God's love with people, and helping them to understand how much Jesus loved them. Just as these fishermen had once brought fish into their boats, they would now focus on bringing people in the kingdom of God.