When Jesus came ashore, he saw a large crowd. He felt deep concern for them. They were like sheep
without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things...
He went into the villages, the towns and the countryside. Everywhere he went, the people brought the
sick to the market places. Those who were sick begged him to let them touch just the edge of his
clothes. And all who touched him were healed. (Mark 6:34, 56 New Reader’s International Version)
Have you ever reacted to something so deeply that your skin crawled or the pit of your stomach got queasy? I’ll tell you when that happens to me. A kid will come to youth group with some obvious injury—wearing a cast or both knees scraped up and they’ll tell me what happened:
“Well, Pastor Randy, I was skateboarding on the street and I was gonna jump the curb, but I didn’t get
high enough so the skateboard stopped and I didn’t and I landed on my knees.”
So my brain adds the sensation of concrete scraping the skin off of MY knees to the story . . . and my guts react like it happened to me.
If you can relate to that kind of gut reaction, than you can understand the experience Jesus had that day. Jesus, seeing the needs of the people around him, has a gut reaction of concern for them. He responds by teaching and healing . . . meeting the needs of the crowd that had gathered. Jesus, our great Teacher, showed us by his example, what true spiritual leadership looks like. It’s an important example to pay attention to as we live into our calling to make an impact for the kingdom of God in our community and as we continue to work out what it means to be a caring and fruitful family of faith.
Often times when we are confronted with people in need we are hindered by a sense of inability. I find that happening when I encounter a situation where the need is great or when I don’t believe I have the resources to meet the need. Productivity expert David Allen has some important advice for moments like this—pick a next action. You may not be able to resolve the situation completely…you may not have all the resources necessary to provide complete assistance…but you can take an action that begins the process of meaningfully meeting the need. Jesus’ heart was broken by deep concern for others. He took action to meet their need. We have no better role model than him! Consider these questions to inspire your next compassionate action:
• What person in your life have you felt deep concern for? What situation in our community have you strongly reacted to? What “breaks your heart?”
• What’s the next action YOU can take to address that need or situation?
May you be blessed and be a blessing this month!
