It was a tragic mistake. On July 3, 1988, the guided-missile cruiser USS Vincennes shot down an Iranian airliner with 290 souls aboard. All were lost. The ship's captain mistakenly thought they were under attack by an F-14 Iranian fighter.
Public opinion polls showed that most Americans opposed paying compensation to the victims' families. The cruel treatment of American hostages in Iran was still fresh in many minds. But President Reagan approved compensation. Asked by reporters if such payment would send the wrong signal, he replied, "I don't ever find compassion a bad precedent."
The principle of revenge is so much simpler to practice. Yet compassion is Christ's way—a deep caring for the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the whole person. It reveals the heart of God for sinful people—for you and for me.
The feeding of the 5,000 was a miracle born out of compassion. Jesus was moved by the physical and spiritual needs of the people (Matthew 14:14; Mark 6:34). He was not content just to teach them and then send them on their way.
As Christians, we must look at the whole person through the eyes of Jesus. Being moved by compassion always sends the right signal.
— Dennis J. De Haan
Give me a heart sympathetic and tender,
Jesus, like Thine, Jesus, like Thine;
Touched by the needs that are surging around me,
And filled with compassion divine. —Anon.
Compassion is love in action.