Friday; February 28

A couple of days ago a friend of mine preached a sermon that centered on Jesus feeding the multitudes.  Often, when we consider these stories, we seem to focus on the power of Jesus to feed thousands of people with a “Kid's Meal”, but my friend brought up an interesting point.  Jesus didn’t just have power, He also had compassion.  When Mark tells of a second feeding he begins by noting, “In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples and said to them, ‘I feel compassion for the people because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance.’” (Mark 8:1-3).  Folks, it is cool to focus on Jesus’ miracle, but I believe it is His mindset that also teaches us a great lesson.  Jesus cared about the people and He wasn’t about to let them suffer when He could do something about their situation.  They didn’t deserve His power, but His personality let Him to act.

There are a lot of people in our communities who need help.  What are we doing for them?  When we look at them (if we do look at them) do we see them as a political problem, a social condition or as human beings in need of something more than they have.  Most of us have something readily at our disposal that we can give others in need – are we willing to share with them?  I am not saying we need to go into debt or fail to take care of our own families, but typically we have something we can give to help them out.

Let’s remember compassion.  It might not solve all life’s issues, but it just might help that person we’ll come in contact with today.

Think About It!

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