Compassion

“I wish that little boy was with us.” –Page131

Wow- what an astounding statement to be made by such a little kid!

The boy in The Road never ceases to amaze me. His love and his compassion for others is truly remarkable. He doesn’t even have to know the person to have such a great desire to help them and to see them live. In our first reading, the boy sees a man walking down the road. A man that is dirty, grungy, hurt, the least of the least and yet without even knowing this man or his story, the young boy wants to help him.

During the second reading, the boy hears a dog barking. (Page 82) Even though he is hungry, the boy is not compromising on his morals by eating it. He turns to his dad and says, “We’re not going to kill, are we Papa?” I know that for most people in that situation, they may not want to kill it at first but in the needs to survive they would end up killing it and eating it. It almost seems to me that the thought of eating the dog in order for him and his dad to survive never crossed his mind.

On pages 84-86, the boy sees a little boy. The boy doesn’t even have to have a good view or look at the other boy to know that the little boy needs help. He says, “I just wanted to see him, Papa. I just wanted to see him.” The boy wouldn’t stop crying and wouldn’t stop looking back after seeing the little boy. He mentions to his father that he is afraid for the little boy, that they should go back to get him and the dog so the dog can catch us something to eat, and even goes as far as to say that he would give that little boy half of his food. We all know that the son and father don’t have that much food and for the son to say that he would give the little boy half of his food is a huge sacrifice. It’s even more remarkable for him to say that counting the fact that he doesn’t even know the little boy and has barely seen him.

What would it look like for us as Christians to have this heart of compassion that the little boy has? What would it take for us to give everything that we have to someone that we don’t even know? This little boy has truly touched my heart.

I want to become a missionary in other countries through education. One of the things that I’m learning is giving myself away- putting other people’s needs and wants before mine. If I want to be a missionary and live for Christ then I need to learn how to give someone I don’t know the shirt off my back…WITHOUT HESITATION. The little boy in The Road is willing to do this and is willing to do this more than once. I believe that it isn’t just a one-time thing- it’s a continual thing. We need to be continually compassionate for others.