MATTHEW 9:36 – When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
PSALM 142:4 – 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.
THEME OF THE DAY: DO WE SEE THEM? and DO THEY SEE US? Today’s nugget contains two scriptures which paint a vivid contrast. Though not explicitly stated, they clearly imply the spiritual conditions possible of every Christian. One is healthy and the other is not. One makes us like Jesus living selfless and observant. One makes us nothing like Jesus living selfish and blinded.
In the Gospel of Matthew reference, we witness the vision of Jesus seeing the crowd through the heart of Jesus feeling for the crowds. What is modeled for us is the life of the Christian who is close to the Lord. As we behold His glory, and are transformed into His image, we begin to have a heart and eyesight for the hurting people around us (2 Corinthians 3:18). It cannot be otherwise. One simply cannot be near the heart of Jesus and not be shaped into the heart of Jesus, a heart of compassion. Now let’s not be quick to give ourselves a pass and say, “But that is God. I cannot be like him.” Enter the Parable of the Good Samaritan . . .
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” (Luke 10:25-37). The same qualities witnessed in Jesus were in the Good Samaritan. He saw. He had compassion. He went into action. And that is what a healthy Christian does. The question becomes, “Do we see them? All the hurting people needing us to be Jesus to them in word and deed?”
We move into the Psalm reference, and one of the saddest verses in scripture and the worst label a Christian may ever receive – not caring. How unlike Jesus! Yet, it happens. A lot. We are not immune to being distracted and only see the world through our small lens of me, my, and mine. And here is the very uncomfortable part – “Do they see us?” meaning do people around us observe an uncaring people, a people ignoring the hurting, a people so blinded to the world of sufferers around us, they never see them as Jesus does? May it never be! After all, we are to be primarily known by our love, Christ’s love lived through our hearts, eyes, and hands.
PRAYER: “Father, please help me not to be so absorbed with my life I don’t see those in need around me.”
QUOTE: “Christians under the control of Christ’s love, have the eyes and feet of Christ to those in need.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim