As mentioned earlier, borderline personality (BPD) has greater stigma attached to it than any other mental illness. Those with the disorder are feared and avoided to such an extent that it’s been referred to as “the leprosy of mental illnesses”.

We know too that in his day, Jesus did not avoid or fear the leper and the demoniac. He reached out to them with the compassion that was so much part of who he was. How can we follow Jesus by bringing such empathy to those the world turns away?

I believe the compassion God calls us to have—the compassion Jesus has modelled for us throughout the Bible—is the most powerful healer for those who are hurting. The heart of God is at its centre. Through our obedience to God’s leading, we can carry the love of God to those who suffer.

Jesus does not look at the sores on the leper’s body. He does not fear the demoniac’s behaviour. He sees the heart that lives inside them. He recognizes the love such individuals hunger for. And Jesus has love to give—love he gives to all of us, but especially to those who suffer most.

People with BPD are stigmatized and ostracized. They are lonely. They need friends who will care about them. Can we give them the kind of love that Jesus, as our example, is teaching us to give? How can we bring healing to them?

Those who live with BPD need to be able to talk once in a while to people who won’t be judgmental. When we listen to them tell us about their pain, we are helping them carry that pain. That’s compassion. That’s love.

With such love, we can bring God’s healing power to those who need it—even to those the world has deemed unlovable. The more regularly such compassion is shown, the more effective the healing will be. People with BPD can and do recover.