There is a great story in the New Testament about Jesus healing a man with leprosy (Mark 1:40-45). Notice how the story begins.
“A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. ‘If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,’ he said. Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him” (Mark 1:40-41).
Three words are striking: “moved with compassion.”
I heard a sermon years ago, in which the pastor said there are 35 times when the Bible says Jesus had compassion on someone; each time, he responded by doing something for them.
You want to do good recovery work. That’s great. But remember, it can’t be all about you. The 12th Step reminds us that by helping others with their recovery, we help ourselves with our own recovery.
Each of us should follow this simple three-step process:
- We see an addict (or spouse) in need.
- We have compassion for that person.
- We do something to help them.
Recovery Step: Ask God to bring someone into your life who needs help in addiction or trauma recovery. Then ask for the compassion to spring into action.
