A Different Kind of Compassion

Scripture:
Matthew 14:14 — "When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick."

Observation:
Throughout the life of Christ we see Him perform miracle after miracle. Does He ever get tired of the people? I wonder what is going through His mind as he sees so many needs. His heart is that their be no sickness, no hate, no crime, no suffering, no hunger, or no sin. I wonder what went though His heart and mind as he walked on this earth. I think that we get a picture into the humanity of Christ in this passage. Though He was God He also was a man. The compassion of Christ moves Him to action. He felt compassion for these people and he healed the sick and fed the hungry. Christ saw the needs and did something about it. One thing that never really stuck out in my mind was the timing of this event. Jesus has just found out about John the Baptist. He has just gotten away because of the news that John the Baptist has just been beheaded. The crowds followed Him and Jesus feels compassion for the people. If there ever was a time when Jesus would have wanted to NOT do anything… I think this would have been one of those times. What was His response too the people? He had compassion for them. His heart broke for their needs and he did something about it!

Application:
I’m not sure how many times each and every day that I see needs and don’t “feel” like doing anything about it. My day (or mood) always predicts whether or not I have any compassion in the tank. I’m not even talking about compassion for people I don’t know… I’m talking about compassion for the people that I love and care about. I wish that I could see people the way that Christ saw them. I wish that I would try to meet needs whenever and wherever I saw them. I wish that my current situation (or mood that day) did not alter the opportunity that is before me. Each and every day we face so many opportunities to meet the needs of others. To be the hands and feet of Christ and we simply just walk right by. We need to see opportunities, situations and people the way that Christ saw them. In this short chapter thousands of lives were touched because one man felt compassion for them!

Prayer:
Lord, please help me to have the right attitude towards others needs each and every day. Help me to truly have compassion for people. Lord, I know that in order to see the needs I need to be with You. Please put before me opportunities that I may walk into so that Your name will receive Glory. Help me to overcome me… so that you can work through me. Lord, please give our church a heart of compassion so that we can reach our community and the world for Your namesake.

— Jason Stoker, middle school pastor, Reservoir campus