MAN WITH COMPASSION
Matthew 15:29-39
15:29-39 And Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them those who were lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them. So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.
Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”
Then His disciples said to Him, “Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?”
Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?”
And they said, “Seven, and a few little fish.”
And He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left. Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala.
Only the person who has the RESOURCES and the intent to meet the need can afford to have compassion. Without those a person can only afford sympathy. Which, frankly, is hardly worth the effort – for either side. Jesus is fully aware of His resources and without posturing or fanfare, puts those resources to work in our lives and world.
Once His heart is installed in us and we commit to yield to Him, the RESOURCES of Heaven are at our disposal. Notice the pivotal phrase, His heart. That’s where we need to look. That’s what we need to focus on.
The Biblical definition of a Christian is a person who is totally possessed by the nature of their Creator/Father, made possible by Jesus, carried out by His invisible, indwelling, personal self… His Spirit.
Therefore, Jesus’ point of view is what that Christian chooses to dictate their own thoughts and actions. He can now be manifested in human flesh in us because His life is the one we’re living. Our primary obsession is to know Him, as He shows Himself in the face of every situation we meet.
The problem is that unless that is happening, we will misunderstand EVERYTHING. Yes, everything. We may not even know what the challenge really is. The sooner we force ourselves to install the habit of turning to Jesus and asking for His perspective, the sooner we can begin to enjoy the life He wants to live in us.
He doesn’t just jump in and fake it. Nor does He throw up His hands and just sympathize. He has us in this world, in these situations, in this family, in awkward positions to give us a look at Him we have not yet seen. He wants us to yield, watch and enjoy how He uses His resources through us.
And remember, what ever resource He has put in your hand, that’s enough. Don’t grip it. Give it. He will bless it, break it and do abundantly above what we ask or even imagine.