Compassion
Though English born, F. W. Boreham came to notoriety in Australia and New Zealand as a dynamic Baptist pastor in the early 1900’s.
One time he looked out his window to see a woman frantically pacing up and down outside his home. Clearly she wanted to talk to Boreham but couldn’t summon the courage. Finally, the pastor came out to see what she wanted.
It didn’t take long for her to begin talking and then the story came out. Her baby had just died. She didn’t belong to any church but desperately needed someone to take the funeral. At that time many ministers would have declined if asked. She went off knowing Boreham would visit her the next day.
That’s when the whole story came out. The baby had been born out of wedlock (so common now but virtually unknown back then). The baby’s body was markedly deformed, especially around its little face. It had only lived minutes after birth. The woman felt full of shame. There was little mention of the father.
The baby was laid to rest in a new cemetery in the middle of a terrible storm. Besides the mother and Boreham, only one other person turned up. The scene was bleak in every possible way.
F. W. Boreham did what he did out of a heart of compassion. He never expected it but a short time later, the mother turned up for the morning service. She hardly missed a Sunday after that in all the years Boreham pastored that church.
There are times when the human soul is left shattered by life. In those times it doesn’t need gifts. There’s little we can give that has meaning anyway. When the soul is brought down this low it needs another soul, a human presence.
Will you be that person?
To listen to this message, download in MP3 here.