The Authority of Compassion

Last Sunday, Joel Vestal challenged our community on being people of compassion... and it really struck a chord with many of us. Living beyond ourselves as Christ followers has been heavy on my mind all week... and then, I ran across a passage written by Henri Nouwen, that couples compassion with authority. It spoke powerfully to me; I hope it does to you, as well. Here it is:

"We usually think of people with great authority as higher up, far away, hard to reach. But spiritual authority comes from compassion and emerges from deep inner solidarity with those who are "subject" to authority. The one who is fully like us, who deeply understands our joys and pains or hopes and desires, and who is willing and able to walk with us, that is the one to whom we gladly give authority and whose "subjects" we are willing to be. It is compassionate authority that empowers, encourages, calls forth hidden gifts, and enables great things to happen. True spiritual authority is located in the point of an upside-down triangle, supporting and holding into the light everyone they offer their leadership to."