Another distinguishing mark of a Christian university is compassion both taught and lived. The concept of compassion permeates the intellectual life of the university community. It is normatively highlighted along with its absence. It is celebrated and admired. It is practiced within the life of the university community and importantly it is lived-out in the community far beyond the university.
What do I mean by compassion? The first chapter of the Gospel of John (chapter one) says that God is love and love is embodied in Jesus Christ, full of grace and truth. The Apostle John stated that God has so much love and compassion for the world that He took on the punishment for the sins of the world for all people at all times. That compassion continues to be at work in the world. Just as the compassionate work of Christ continued in and through the Apostles and early followers of Christ by the Holy Spirit to the world, His compassionate, salvivic work of love continues today. The Christian university is part of the continuing compassion of Jesus Christ in and to the world. It is expressed especially through God's love for the poor, the vulnerable, the dispossessed, and the marginalized. By showing the necessity for and impact of compassion, the Christian university intentionally teaches and lives out both discovered and revealed truth.
The Christian university teaches compassion when its students go off campus to rake leaves and wash windows for senior members of the community, when teams fan out across North America during spring break to partner with Habitat for Humanity to build houses for the poor, when student teams travel internationally to work with women and children caught-up in the slavery of human trafficking, addiction, and poverty, when nursing students travel to Zambia to work for free in a Salvation Army hospital caring for HIV/AIDS patients and their children, and when business students and their fathers travel to Thailand to promote micro-economic development lending their own money to start new micro-businesses. In teaching and living-out compassion, there are exposures and encounters that are transformational. This is because engagement in acts of love and compassion in the name of Jesus Christ transforms and creates a lasting impact on character of all involved.
Another way of defining compassion is "acts of mercy and love." The prophet Micah (6:8) underscored the importance of mercy when he wrote - "What does the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God." The Christian university is a particular university devoted to developing the whole person intellectually, socially, and spiritually by intentionally teaching compassion and living compassionately. It intentionally finds the many ways to engage students in acts of mercy and love, hospitality to the other, making room for others, paying attention to the giftedness and needs of others, and as a result growing into the likeness of Jesus Christ. What a privilege! What a joy and blessing!
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