Friday, January 14, 2022
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9:35-36
With The Compassion of Christ
When He lived here on earth, Jesus was moved with compassion for the hurting and sick people He saw every day. He saw their weariness. He saw how worn down they were. He saw how lost they were, like sheep with no shepherd.
Today, more than anytime I can remember in my lifetime, people are facing great trials that leave them weary and worn. People are facing physical trials. People are facing financial trials. People are facing mental and emotional trials. People are facing family and relationship trials.
Jesus wants the church to be His hands and feet to the hurting and lost people today, just as He did during His time on earth. He wants us to see people as they are and be moved with compassion to help them. He modeled compassion so clearly for us, so unbiased and without reserve. He didn’t care who disagreed with His ways. He ate with sinners and tax collectors. He waited for the woman at the well. He touched lepers and healed wounds. He cared about every single one of them from the most undesirable to be around, the ones considered too sinful to waste time on, to those considered poor and unimportant in the eyes of those watching Him. He portrayed the very image of the Love of God in real life before their eyes.
The compassion of Christ will also propel us to pray for workers to join us in this desire. Jesus built a team – twelve men – that joined Him in His ministry, not to mention tons of other people along the way that joined Him as well. He didn’t pick perfect men. He picked some of the most unlikely men - He picked all kinds of men from all kinds of backgrounds. God can use all of us, no matter who we are or where we come from, to show love and compassion and to do His work in this world.
Jesus told the disciples in Matthew 9:37 The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. He was asking the disciples to pray for more workers, not a large harvest. He wasn’t asking for big numbers of people to be reached, ministered to and saved, He was just asking for there to be workers that submit to the calling of God to love people.
In Chapter 10 of Matthew, Jesus sent out His disciples filled with His power to meet the spiritual and physical needs of people. He sent them out with His power, with His mission, and with His message. He does the same thing for you and me that He did for His disciples. We have the same power, message, and mission that they had to minister with. We can go out every day, equipped, in His power, and ready to love and care for everyone we meet along the way. We can pray for eyes that see, ears that hear, and a heart that cares. He showed us how to minister and love people and that is what He calls us to do every day in our lives.
