Moved with Compassion

 When I go and do my shopping, I try to connect with people by looking at them and making eye contact. Very seldom am I successful in my efforts. I don't believe it is because I look unfriendly or mean. I see the faces of the people, and they look so unhappy. They seem to be trudging through life with no joy. Some seem to wandering around, not really knowing what they are looking for. It makes me sad to think how much they are missing in life.

Jesus pursued people, and people pursued Him in great numbers. The Bible tells us about His encounters with the crowds of people. (Mark 6:34) When Jesus came out, He saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things. Jesus had a heart of compassion for all of the people He met, but it really seemed to hit Him when He saw the multitudes. I believe He wants us to have a heart of compassion for the multitudes, too.

Compassion is God's love welling up in us, so that we "feel with" other people. If they are sad, we are sad with them, so we try to to lift their spirits. If they are happy, we rejoice with them. If they are lost and don't know the Lord, we help them see that Jesus loves them, and they can be saved. Then, we show them how Jesus wants them to live. That is just what Jesus did when He saw the multitudes, and it is what we should do today.

The question is "Do we have that compassion for the multitudes?" It is not something that happens automatically for every Christian. It is something that we have to allow the Holy Spirit to develop in us. He will give us the eyes of Jesus, the heart of Jesus, and the wisdom of Jesus, so we can see people as they are, have compassion for them, and teach them what they need to know to have an abundant life. I pray we will all ask the Spirit to give us these things so we can be like Jesus and help others.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Mark 7-9.