A Broken Heart for Christmas

 Have you heard the song by Jonny Diaz called “Break My Heart”? It’s been on my mind lately and it begins with the lines:

 I see children in slavery
It's all too much so I turn off the TV

A world away from the world they're in
So I give up before I even begin

 We’ve all done that; we see something that disturbs us and we turn away.  It’s a natural response, but is it the correct response? As believers in Christ, we are to follow His example, as Jonny continues in his song:

 To try to make this right

To try to love like Christ
So, help me see through the eyes of the hurting
Come break my heart, come break my heart
True grace sees a face, not a burden
So, come break my heart, won't You break my heart?

 “True grace sees a face not a burden”; that line gets me. I am ashamed to say how many times I have asked God in exasperation “don’t You want to fix all this? You can fix it now, Lord!  What’s the point of all the hurt?”

 Now, part of me is sincerely concerned with the well-being of others but a lot of my frustration is rooted in selfishness; I want to feel good and if others are hurting, then I feel guilty for feeling good. “Lord, don’t You want to fix all this so we can all just enjoy life and this wonderful world You created?” His response is remind me that His ways are not my ways, that He is still in control and that my job is to look at Jesus and do as He did.

 Maybe that’s why Jonny’s song swirls around in my head so much; to be an ongoing prayer to see things, to see people, as God sees them, to have a true heart of compassion for others, to be more like Jesus.

 “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy” we read in verse 1 of Psalm 145 (NKJV). Full of compassion; did you get that?  God is not somewhat full or sort of compassionate but full of compassion; and He wants us to be filled as well.

 Compassion usually gets more attention this time of year and that’s good; it’s the “holiday spirit”. Charity is in the spotlight and many people are blessed as a result. However, do we give because we truly see others as God sees them or are we placating our selfishness for a while? God is pleased when we help others but He loves it when we allow Him to break our hearts and fill us with His compassion. He wants to use you and me to be His agents of love. As Jonny continues in his song:

 I believe that one can make a difference

Cause one man on a cross changed the world

 The compassionate heart of God took Jesus to the cross and opened the way of wholeness, healing and reconciliation with God. Jesus died of a broken heart, you might say. Because God’s heart was broken for us, Jesus allowed Himself to be broken to the point of death for our benefit. Now, He calls us to be broken so that we might be filled, and used, for God’s purpose as well.

 K.P Yohannan is filled with the compassion of the Lord. The founder and president of Gospel for Asia will tell you that he asked God to break his heart and He did. God has used K.P. and Gospel for Asia to share the love of Jesus in some of the world’s harshest places, among some of the world’s most desperate people. One man, broken to see others through the eyes of Christ and filled with His compassion, is impacting the world in ways he never dreamed possible.

 You and I can join K. P. and Gospel for Asia in reaching around the world with the love of Jesus. The Critter Campaign, presented by Gospel for Asia and Equip FM offers us the opportunity to meet both the physical and spiritual needs of desperately poor people.

 A pair of chickens or camels, a sewing machine, a water filter or helping a woman learn to read are gifts we can give that improve the quality of life for another person and also open the door for them to learn of the best gift anyone can receive-eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ!

 It’s my hope that you will support the Critter Campaign with a gift this Christmas, but more importantly I pray that you, and I, will ask God (and allow Him) to break our hearts and fill us with His compassion. He will be so pleased if we do, and only He knows how He might use us to be His hands and feet to reach a world that yearns for His love!

 Click here to see how you can celebrate Christ and transform the lives of some of the world’s poorest people with the Critter Campaign.

 You can hear an interview about the Critter campaign with K.P.’s son, Daniel Yohannan, vice president of Gospel for Asia, Tuesday night (December 6) at 8pm on Equip FM or listen to it now at http://equipfm.org/DannyY

 K. P. Yohannan’s radio program “Road to Reality” airs Saturday at 8am and 3pm, and Sunday at 6:30am and 9pm on Equip FM.

 Equip FM serves Lynchburg at 95.3 FM, Amherst and Madison Heights at 88.7 FM, and Appomattox at 90.5 FM. You may also listen online at www.equipfm.org.

 To learn more about a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ click here.