Graffiti on the wall of a Liberian Displaced Person's Camp home.

"He that bring(s) bread brings life."

Below it is written Proverbs 17:1 "It is better to eat a dry crust of bread with peace (of mind) than have a banquet in a house full of trouble."


I wonder about the person who wrote this. I wonder about what they'd been through and where they are now. I know two things: they knew what it meant to be truly hungry, and they realized that any food eaten in peace (not the midst of war) is received with gratitude.

I'd love to have sat down with this person. I know they could teach me much about bread, peace, and compassion.

I think about bread bringing life, and I turn to my favorite "Jesus Word:" Compassion.

In Matthew 9:36, the writer says of my Jesus, "when he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."

Then Jesus said, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.

Compassion. It's my favorite "Jesus Word."
It's a word I need to install more in my life and actions.

It's a word that I don't need to travel to another continent to use. Compassion is just as needed in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana as it is in Africa.

Compassion.
Lord, teach me your compassion.