Ecclesiastes 4:1 – Again I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them.

THEME OF THE DAY: ENTERING OUR HURTING WORLDS. Did we catch the repeated phrase in Solomon’s words found in today’s scripture? They are the saddest words which may be ever said by a people; ‘no one to comfort them.’ And for the church of Jesus Christ, it is the severest of indictments to receive. The worst assessment the world could ever say of us who profess to know and follow the God who is love is ‘they don’t care.’

King Solomon wasn’t the only writer of scripture to reveal this epitome of selfishness in people. Meditate on these blistering words from David, “Look to the right and see: there is none who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul” (Psalm 142:4). Again, think of this from the perspective of being a Christian. Jesus warns us that in the last days, “sin will abound and cause the hearts of many to grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). And one of the abounding sins in our culture, and infiltrating our churches is the sin of selfishness. The easiest thing which may happen to a Christian is to gain a cold heart; a heart so absorbed with me, my, and mine that it fails to obey the command of God to love outside their personal comfort zones of family and friends. This is not only easy, but spiritually dangerous because such a self-absorbed focus leads to spiritual complacency toward others that is tolerated and never repented of.

Remember the words Jesus told His disciples, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). Like Solomon’s use of repetition in today’s scripture, notice the repeated emphasis Jesus places on loving one another; three times in two verses. He means it and is serious about it. It is so serious that He would even say that the evidence we are truly His disciples is this love we have for one another. So, how we doing in this area of discipleship? Are we loving His people? Before answering, consider just what that means. It must have “feet on it” or be service-based. Our profession of love for the Lord Jesus and His people is shallow and meaningless if it isn’t tangible. The love of Christ always moves us to acts of love meeting the emotional, spiritual, and physical needs of other Christians. When the love of Christ controls His people, a life of sacrificial service toward His people always results. And it isn’t measured by the amount of service but by the sincerity and consistency in the service. Love without action is not only self-deceiving but betrays the example of Jesus and the call He makes to every one of His children. He said, ‘I came not to be served but to serve and give my life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). The Christian life is a love-motivated, self-denying, others-oriented life that loses self and self-interests for the sake of Jesus and His people. When this is understood, embraced, and acted upon, we get joy; fullness of joy and find Christ more and more precious and the world sees the “real” Christ through His “real” disciples.

Yes, this is a challenge; the hardest thing in the Christian life. To put “self on a shelf” for the interest of Christ and others is demanding, attacks our desire for comfort, and makes us conduct all-out war on our still remaining sin of selfishness in our hearts. Yet, it is the call of Christian life. And it is our love to all the hurting people around us; in our families, churches, neighborhoods, and communities that desperately need to not only hear our profession of faith in Christ, but to “feel” our profession by our acts of love to them. Let’s strive to ensure it may never be said of us or our church, “No one care for my soul. No one was there to comfort me.”

PRAYER: “Father, give me the heart of Your Son for hurting people that moves me to serve these hurting people.”

QUOTE: “Our love is simply shallow words with no substance if it lacks tangible acts of meeting the needs of others.”