“Will you go with me to watch the drama?” Grandpa asked. “Yes, Sir!” my cousin Cong shouted eagerly. I just thought in disgust, “Why must Cong go with us?”
During the temple fair in our village (which falls on the 15th day of the third moon), there were always traditional Chinese drama performances. And each year, Grandpa would take me to watch the performance with him, and I always enjoyed just the two of us being together. But this time, he had to take Cong with us because she temporarily lived with us. Cong was only five years old, but was an annoying child. She stuttered on her words which made me feel ashamed in front of my friends. What’s worse, because she was our guest, Grandma insisted that I take Cong with me wherever I played.
We three set off after a hearty lunch, which Grandma had carefully prepared that morning. Grandma waved goodbye to us, smiling and wishing us a good time. The moment we arrived at the site of the performance, I found my friend Lili, who was also there. As soon as Grandpa found a proper place to watch the drama, I whispered in his ear, telling him that I would be away for a little while. Grandpa agreed with me, but insisted that I take Cong, and not to leave her alone. In order to get rid of Cong, I gave her my beloved glass ball to play with and promised to be back soon. Cong agreed and stammered saying, “I…I will play…play with the glass ball….by myself….myself before you come back.” I nodded and smiled slyly.
In fact, I went with Lili and we played happily the whole afternoon until someone called me and said anxiously, “Maybe she is your sister.” With his finger, he pointed to where there was a group of adults surrounding a little girl. The little girl was nobody but Cong. Her face flushed bright red and her lip had turned blue. Sadly, at that time, I took a little pleasure in her suffering. When I went close to them, I saw clearly that Grandpa was pinching Cong’s throat as something was stuck there and saying to her “Honey, come on!” Immediately, Cong rolled her eyes back, showing the white part of her eye, and fainted.
Suddenly, I realized that I may lose Cong forever and I burst into tears. Recalling that I had never been friendly to her, I couldn’t help crying loudly. In my heart, I found that I feared losing Cong, and that Cong was actually a very lovely girl. Fortunately, the ambulance arrived in time and Cong was rescued.
It was the glass ball I had given Cong that had stuck in her throat. She was so bored to play with it by herself, so she put it in her mouth and accidentally swallowed it. It was too large to go down her throat, so it just stuck there and she couldn’t breathe.
Though nobody punished me for leaving Cong, I felt guilty about it. I should not have left her alone, for she was my little cousin. What’s more, I should not have rejected her for the stupid reason that she had a stutter. In fact, it was my vanity that led to my unfriendly attitude toward Cong, and it nearly made me lose her forever. From that moment on, I learned to pay attention to the inside of a person, and cherish the good qualities, whatever they may be. Never should we be vain, or we may lose the most precious thing in our life.
Additional Comments – One of the hallmarks of Jesus’ life and ministry was His compassion toward others. In fact, the biblical writers speak extensively of His compassion, even more than His love. However, there is an amazing connection between the two. “Compassion” is simply “feeling someone else’s pain in your own heart.” And that’s exactly what Jesus felt. There is no action involved in compassion alone. However, Jesus acted on His compassion. Whether they were blind, deaf, paralyzed, lepers, or demon possessed, He responded with healing. And because “love” is an “action verb,” and not necessarily a feeling, it was His love that responded to his compassion. In other words, “compassion” feels, and “love” responds. Jesus did both.
My former student failed to have compassion on her cousin Cong, even though she was bothersome and had a “stutter.” Her lack of compassion could have had disastrous results. And because of that, she was overwhelmed with guilt. So much so that she chose this story as one of the most significant events in her life because it taught her about her own vanity and the need to accept others, even if they are a little “different.” She learned what Jesus desires to teach each one of us. Instead of rejecting others, we are called to accept others.
That’s why the Apostle Paul exhorts us to always “Accept one another….” just as they are, without prejudice. And what is our motivation for doing that? As Paul continues, it’s simply “…because Christ has accepted us” (Rom. 15:7). As someone once said, “Jesus accepts each one of us, warts and all!” In other words, He accepts us “just as we are.” And because of that, we are to accept others in just the same way.
Furthermore, just like “compassion” needs to respond in “love,” so “acceptance” needs to respond with acts of “kindness.” The Apostle Paul recognized the importance of kindness when he wrote, “Be kind to one another….” (Eph. 4:32).
So, this week, let’s all ask God to give us a heart of compassion toward others. And along with that, let’s ask Him to teach us to accept others, just as they are, and to respond with appropriate acts of love and kindness. If we do, we will change, and in the process, we will bless and enrich the lives of others. After all, that’s what life is supposed to be about anyway!
