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You are here: Home / faith / Giving our children a heart of compassion

June 22, 2010 by Tricia Goyer 1 Comment

Giving our children a heart of compassion


Today I started a new Bible reading plan, which started with Matthew 1. While I usually don’t get too excited about reading genealogy, today God pricked my heart concerning something I haven’t thought much about.

Matthew 1: 5-6 says:
Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.

Personally, I love the story of Ruth and Boaz. Ruth, a foreigner and a widow is redeemed by Boaz. The lonely and unloved found love and was not only given a second chance, she was given a husband, a family, a son.

But this morning I started thinking more of Boaz. The son of Rahab, a foreigner and a harlot, found love and compassion for a foreigner and a widow. It doesn’t surprise me. Boaz learned growing up that the greatest love sometimes comes after great pain. He witnessed that within his own household.

Many times as a mom I desire to hide all the pain of my “horrible teen years” from my children. In the past, I didn’t want them to put two-and-two together when it came to my teen pregnancy. I didn’t want to have to confess that I’d had an abortion. I didn’t want to talk about the moments I fell short or flubbed up. But the truth is, as I’ve shared my pain and struggles over the years God has used my confessions to grow a heart of compassion in my kids. Now, as young adults, they care for those down and out. They befriend those on the fringes of society. They love the sometimes unlovely.

In my life I have been very grateful for God’s transformations, but I had no idea the impact it would have in my kids. Through my sometimes poor example, my children have also learned that that greatest love sometimes comes after great pain. And through their hearts of compassion, my prayer is that they’ll continue to share that care and concern with others—whoever God brings in their paths.

(picture credit)

Filed Under: faith, family


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Comments

  1. Joyce says

    June 22, 2010 at 6:22 pm

    This was wonderful, the society we live within lacks understanding and compassion for others around them. Not only should we have compassion for those we know are going through life, but also the ones we don’t know. My greatest example is the slow driver in front of us, we are in a hurry and they are in our way. What if it is an elderly person whose only way of getting around is to drive themselves. Maybe a new an uncertain driver or maybe they are just lost. You brought a tear to my eye thanks for sharing.

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