Compassion International connects compassionate people with children living in poverty. Our beginnings trace back to 1952, when an American evangelist, Rev. Everett Swanson, saw firsthand the plight of orphans in the Korean War. Swanson was deeply troubled to see that the “piles” were not rags but frozen bodies of orphans who had died overnight in the street.

On the airplane home, Swanson heard a simple message resounding in his head. As the engines whirred, he listened to the challenge, “What are you going to do? What are you going to do?” repeatedly. By the time his plane landed, Swanson had made a decision: God had moved him with compassion, so he needed to take action.

Jesus defined compassion with the story of the Good Samaritan: “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them.” (Luke 10:33-34a, NLT)

He gave two simple commands: love God and love your neighbor as yourself. The Pharisees immediately followed with a question: “Who is my neighbor?” The neighbor, Jesus explained, was the injured man the Good Samaritan encountered on the side of the road. This man was vulnerable and marginalized, neither friend nor ally. And yet the Good Samaritan saw his neighbor, felt compassion, and moved with compassion.

This is our call as the people of God—to enter a compassionate way of living. To see suffering, feel sympathy, and become love in action.  Because God sees, knows, and loves us, we are connected and unified in a shared human experience—a move of compassion. This disrupts poverty, overturns apathy, and carries us into a story greater than our own. We are good neighbors in Jesus’ name because we were once injured and hopeless on the side of the road, and Jesus moved toward us.