The Compassion of Christ Story

Dewy and Veda were both individually excellent pilots known for their iron wills and bravery, having flown many years and logging thousands of air hours in planes that modern pilots would not attempt to fly. So highly skilled were they at flying that, as civilians, they had been asked by the United States Air Force to train U.S. and British pilots during World War 2.

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Dewy and Veda owned their own small airport and flight school, as well as the Cessna franchise for the entire state of Oklahoma. This brought them in contact with influential people from around the world: heads of state, governors, high-ranking military officers and famous personalities would stop to visit them while travelling across country. Dewy, with his towering frame, infectious grin and quick wit, and Veda with her strong and energetic personality and gracious hostessing made an evening with the Mauks a memorable and sometimes a life-changing occasion, for together they shared unashamedly their mutual faith in, and love for, the Lord.

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But on this special night something was to take place that would usher in events to transform their lives and that of many others. In their devotions, they had been praying for some time that the Lord would find a way for them to be of greater service. They had taught Sunday School classes for several years and had shared their faith with others at every opportunity, yet they felt they could give more and wanted to give more of themselves to bring His hope to so many without hope.

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After praying, they opened their eyes to see an orange-coloured light filling their room. As Dewy was about to get up to investigate the source of this light, he looked up to see the person of Jesus standing at the foot of their bed. Veda saw the Lord too, as this was not a vision but an actual visitation.

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The Lord smiled at them and then slowly came around the bed and bent over and kissed Dewy. Dewy could feel his whiskers brushing against his face. The Lord then rose up, and looking down said: “Lo, I am with you always, to the end of the world.” He slowly faded away and the orange light disappeared but the most ineffable fragrance remained in the room – as though it was filled with all the rose and lotus blossoms in the world.

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Dewy and Veda pondered the meaningfulness of the Lord’s words to them, and how wonderful His face was to behold. They were especially moved by the love and compassion expressed by His eyes. To them, there was enough love and compassion in His eyes for every human being ever born.

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Shortly thereafter, Dewy found out that one of his competitors had succeeded in convincing the Cessna management to give him Dewy’s lucrative dealership. Dewy and Veda were stunned. After years of faithful service and outstanding sales for the company, they couldn’t understand how they had lost the dealership…. Though they could make ends meet by giving flying lessons, they were at a loss at their ages (58 & 56) to know what to do for the remainder of their careers. Remembering the Lord’s words, “I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS”, now took on greater meaning and provided comfort during this perplexing time. However, it didn’t take long for the Lord to make them understand that THIS was the answer to their prayers for increased service to Him. Soon, with the knowledge that they had been called to share their faith in a greater way, Dewy and Veda accepted the Lord’s commission with all their heart.

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In their desire to have a reminder of the Lord’s love and compassion, they sought out a portrait painter in their town (who was also a Christian) whom they had heard possessed an unusual talent. They found Fern Beckham in the small sparsely furnished home her sharecropper father had been given. Fern was a simple yet lovely farm girl, very shy and unassuming. She had never married and was dedicated to her painting. At a very early age her talent had already been recognised by the town’s people. Since Fern was financially unable to attend college, a local club had sponsored her at a fine arts college in Kansas City. After college, she returned home and settled into doing portraits and some landscapes for the local citizens.

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Customers would come from over a 100 miles away to have Fern do a portrait of their loved ones, and in the words of those who knew her, “she could paint eyes better than any artist” and “she never charged anywhere near what her paintings were worth”. A kitchen chair served as her easel at the time Dewy and Veda went to visit her.

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Dewy and Veda told Fern of their visitation by the Lord and how impressed they were, particularly by the love and compassion flowing from His eyes. They described to her, as best they could, how he looked that night, as they wanted her to paint as close a likeness of Him as they remembered. Fern, who had painted the Lord before, knew what they must have meant by “the compassion in the Lord’s eyes”, because she herself had a living relationship with Christ.  From her childhood she had known what a loving friend He is.

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Before she started the painting Fern prayed a special prayer for guidance, that the Holy Spirit would inspire this portrait and give it a living quality. Within a few weeks, “The Compassion of Christ” emerged Dewy and Veda were ecstatic at the likeness. God had worked through Fern and captured on canvass a side of Jesus’ character that people the world over yearn for – the love and compassion of the Divine for them. The painting was placed with great reverence in a prominent place in their house where it had been seen by many guests.

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Dewy and Veda flew from one town to the next speaking and sharing wherever they were invited.

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Their enthusiasm was infectious and many were brought to a deeper commitment to the Lord. They spoke particularly of the importance of getting to know God through prayer. Dewy wrote a booklet on this and on other subjects as well. They took photographs of “The Compassion of Christ” and illustrated their talks on the love of God with them, and many who saw the flowing compassion so richly expressed in the painting were inspired and uplifted.

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At this time Dewy and Veda’s lives were never happier or more rewarding. Then, Veda became aware that she was losing her eyesight. Doctors told her she had an eye disease similar to glaucoma.  Dewy and Veda remembered what the Lord had said to them during His visit – and clung to the promise that HE IS WITH THEM. They asked for prayer from all their friends, as eventually the doctors had given up hope for Veda, now near total blindness.  They kept praying and within a period of a few months, and without medical help, Veda’s eyesight returned to her completely.

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With this joyous victory of prayer and faith, Dewy and Veda again began travelling and sharing a great conviction that God not only wants to bring people into a deeper relationship with Him, but her wants to heal their bodies as well. Together they prayed for those who needed healing and saw many severe cases restored to perfect health.

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For a year after Veda’s healing, Dewy and Veda shared, day after day, either in churches or prayer groups, or at their own home, this good news they had learned from the Lord. Their home became the scene of many prayer meetings and fellowships where it was not uncommon to find the wealthy and the poor seeking a new life together through Jesus, the Christ.

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Then it was detected that Dewy had stomach cancer. After initial prayers brought no visible improvement to his condition, Dewy put himself under a doctor’s care. The doctor treated the cancer as best he could but because it was advancing so rapidly, there was nothing more he could do. Up to this time, Dewy had become a testimony of God’s power to change lives, spirit, soul and body – and he had brought hope to so many. Would God let him die in this fashion?  He began fasting and praying. He sought the Lord with his whole heart. He cleared and made right anything he could think of between himself, the Lord, and others. For over 30 days he continued in this soul-searching fast. After 30 days he felt an assurance rise up in his heart that he was healed. Dewy went back to his doctor who was astounded to find that the cancer had completely disappeared and stated: “IT COULD ONLY BE A MIRACLE!”.

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From then on, Dewy’s testimony of God’s healing power came from more than faith – it came from his own personal experience. For almost two decades after their visit from the Lord, Dewy and Veda Mauk shared their faith untiringly.  Their lives were dedicated to bringing hope, joy, and faith to thousands. Though Dewy in one of his writings spoke about the abruptness of losing his aeroplane dealership and then moving into a more meaningful service for the Lord, his advice is “Watch what you pray to God – because you’ll probably get it!”. He also added that he “wouldn’t change the life he was now living for anything else”.

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With their permission, God turned their retiring lives into golden years of service of eternal value. Their lives are a testimony to what two humble Christians can become, when they allow their hearts to be kindled by the compassion of Christ.

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Dewy and Veda never took the time to have art prints of the original “The Compassion of Christ” made, though they did make some photographs available. In the recent years prints have become available to the public.

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Since its availability, letters from around the world have expressed gratitude for the inspiration received through the painting. Many people who have seen the Lord in visions, dreams or visitations remarked how the painting resembles the Lord and expressed the love they saw in His face more than any other they had seen.

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The painting first received public recognition when it appeared in Guideposts Magazine in April of 1967. Then, two years later, it was selected by the editors of Guideposts to appear again in this publication among the 7 most loved portraits of Christ in History.