PODCAST
God Calls for Compassion
February 15th, 2014
Obadiah 1:8-14
In Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, Scrooge and Marley are partners in a financial firm about to be foreclosed. The two of them could have stepped in to help their boss, Mr. Jorkin, save the company. Instead, they waited with folded arms and wispy grins, gloating as Jorkin finally reveals that the company is insolvent. Ultimately Scrooge and Marley use their own resources to buy up 51 percent of the company. Jorkin is out, Scrooge and Marley are in. They have taken advantage of a friend in trouble.
Challenge to Holy Living
Obadiah and the apostle Paul had similar perspectives regarding how God viewed things and how His people ought to treat each other. Obadiah’s message from God for Edom regarded the way they treated Judah when Judah was being destroyed (v. 12). Paul’s message from God, “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects” (1 Cor. 13:6-7a).
How often the love and support of a Christian brother or sister could make a change in someone’s life outcomes.
Author: Richard H. Neiderhiser
Tags: Compassion
