Devotions from Albert Haase,s book, Living the Lord’s Prayer

Love of God and love of neighbor go hand in hand.  One love complements and completes the other. In John 4:20 it says we cannot love God whom we have not seen if we do not love our brother or sister whom we have seen.
In other words love for God is expressed in love of our neighbor and involves self-forgetfulness.
We are meant to be relational and to feel pity and compassion for the concerns of others. We cannot pray with our eyes closed to the world.

 “Authentic compassion and intercession are the natural and spontaneous responses of disciples as they live in and relate to the world. …..Disciples are constantly in labor as they struggle to perform selfless acts of sacrificial love for others in response to Abba’s love and compassion.”

Compassion changes our heart of stone into a heart of flesh.  It is a witness to the world that we belong to the Lord. The more our hearts are open to the needs of others the more we reflect our identity as His children.

Let us not be self absorbed but walk the way of love and compassion.