Matthew 9:35-38…
Jesus was going about His business, teaching, preaching, and healing, showing His power over all affliction and disease as proof of who He was and is. Yet the demonstration of who He is was not just through power, but also through pity (Matthew 14:14, 15:32).
He was meeting needs in great numbers, but He saw greater needs than numbers. People had problems, but their greatest problem is that they were lost, and had no one to guide them. Jesus is the One to whom we guide people, and Jesus will guide them when He has them, but who will guide them to Jesus in the first place? Who will continue to shepherd them as a servant of Jesus through the problems of life?
You may have strong and right convictions, but the bridge between your conviction and their connection is true compassion (Ephesians 4:15). Do we bear witness to the truth by our compassion for the crowds, the masses of lost people in our own little slice of the world? If you think you are a devoted disciple, but are not developing a compassion for others, you’re not loving God as well as you think you are (Leviticus 19:18 / Matthew 7:12, 22:35-40 / Mark 12:28-34 / Luke 10:25-28 / Romans 13:8-10 / Galatians 5:14 / James 2:8).
This is a call to souls. This is not just a prayer for missionary workers, or evangelists, but for true disciples, who are always about the missionary task because they are always out to serve the Lord by living for Christ, winning others to Christ, and edifying their brothers and sisters in Christ. So whether it is saving souls, strengthening saints, or sending servants, they are living witnesses. We must pray, and we must also realize that we are the answer to the prayer that someone would “pass by” the one in need. Put your hands together to pray for the harvest, and stretch your hands out to gather it.
2 comments:
True compassion is often what I think about when I think chaplaincy. Because of the compassion He has bestowed upon me, Christ has instilled an inner desire that compels me to guide others to Him (2 Cor. 1:3-5). When you stated the question: "Who will continue to shepherd them as a servant of Jesus through the problems of life?" it reminded me of how an undershepherd is to feed God's flock through ministering the Word, nurture the sick through pastoral care, and counsel those in need through spiritual direction.
Well said indeed...
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