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(Matthew 9:36) “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
SERIES 8: BECOMING LIKE JESUS. 7. Showing compassion (Seeing people as Jesus sees them).
Following Jesus means learning to see people differently. The world often teaches us to judge people by what they look like, what they have achieved, how they behave, or what they can do for us. Jesus looks deeper. He sees the person behind the failure, the pain behind the behaviour, and the need behind the words.
Jesus was repeatedly moved with compassion when He encountered people who were hurting. He saw the crowds as “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). He stopped for the blind, the sick, the lonely and the rejected.
He noticed people others had learned to ignore.
It is easy to become so absorbed in our own lives that someone else's struggle becomes an inconvenience. We may see a difficult person and immediately judge them. Jesus asks us to look again. What might they be carrying? What pain might we know nothing about? What would change if, instead of asking, “What is wrong with this person?” we asked, “What has happened to this person?”
Compassion does not mean approving of everything someone does. Jesus combined truth with love. But He never treated people as problems to be removed. He treated them as people who mattered.
Becoming like Jesus means allowing our hearts to become more sensitive to the needs around us. Sometimes compassion will mean listening rather than speaking. Sometimes it will mean forgiving. Sometimes it will mean offering practical help, encouragement ... or simply giving someone our precious time!
Ask God to help you see people as Jesus sees them today. Look beyond appearances. Look beyond irritation. Look beyond differences. There may be someone near you who does not need your judgement. They simply need someone to notice them. See them… Love them and show them the compassion of Jesus.
Compassion begins when we slow down enough to notice.
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Let's pray, "Heavenly Father help me to be like You, to love the unlovable ... to see beyond the walls and fences they erect for protection." Amen!
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