When I was in charge of the Young Adults ministry in Korea, we went to serve people with disabilities for one of our summer retreats. We went to a place called Aikwangwon in Goeje Island, which is often said to be a ‘heaven’ for people with disabilities. Our task was to go and play on the beach with them, which was an annual event that they all looked forward to. We went into the water and played ball and helped them swim. If they could not go into the water, then we stayed with them on the beach so that they could enjoy the scenery.
We became very tired after spending time with them during the day, but we still gathered to worship during the evening. In my memory, that was the retreat which was most filled with the Holy Spirit. Through that experience, I realised that the power and presence of the Holy Spirit go hand in hand with compassion and mercy.
After that retreat, our Young Adults group helped to serve elderly people who lived alone near our church on a monthly basis. It was shocking to learn that some of the elderly people were still using coal briquettes to heat their homes in the city. So we reported this to our congregation and with their offerings were able to donate rice and coal briquettes. We also partnered with neighbouring churches to worship together. Thinking back, it was a joyful and rewarding time.
This week, I listened to Pastor Han Hong’s testimony on a TV program. He had been a workaholic, working day and night for his ministry without much rest. One day, he suddenly suffered from facial paralysis and had to take 6 months off to rest and recover. He gets this even now when he’s tired, so it must have been very serious at the time. When he led a special series of morning prayer meetings shortly after recovering from his illness, he said that the people who had gathered had experienced a great presence of the Holy Spirit. Through those prayer meetings, there were many miracles of people being healed from their illnesses. The pastor said that through his own experience of suffering from an illness, he was able to better understand the hearts of others suffering. He felt that the Holy Spirit worked His healing powers through the pastor’s compassionate heart.
In our Saturday evangelism meetings, I try to concentrate on having a compassionate heart towards other souls. I earnestly hope to have a Christ-like heart, having compassion and showing mercy to unbelievers, rather than simply giving out gospel tracts and defending Jesus Christ. I’m now getting used to giving out gospel tracts and sharing the gospel message confidently through meaningful conversations, but I’m still lacking in having compassion for those I meet on the streets. I think God sometimes allow times of suffering in my own life, so that my heart can become more compassionate towards others as well as inviting me to remain in His presence for a long time.
Jesus said that ‘you will never enter the kingdom of heaven unless you change and become like little children’. We need to always humble ourselves before God, completely depending on Him and His mercy. Those with a humble heart will naturally also have compassion for others and seek to do good for the neglected. And the great glory and power of God’s kingdom will be shown in the world through such compassionate people. ‘Lord, please teach me to be compassionate and merciful.’
