Hello
Here’s today’s Holy Nougat
“When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.””
Luke 7:13 NIV
His heart went out to her.
Jesus saw her; grasped the depth of her situation, and was overcome with compassion.
Unfortunately, Compassion and Empathy are in very short supply. Part of this is due to the increased access to social media, which has resulted in many persons covering crises as events rather than pausing to feel with or for. Soon enough, there is a distance in our sensitivity to the crises of those around us. Soon enough, we either ignore crisis or trauma as unimportant or sensationalize to draw attention.
To some extent, the crowds around Jesus suggested that the extreme responses to crisis also existed then, though perhaps to a lesser extent. Even the disciples were somewhat insensitive to others. But Jesus noticed the little things. Even while going about His own business. Like a widow with all options for self fulfillment removed from her life.
Like us in our own situations of distress or joy which we may not wish to share for fear of it becoming public or over sensationalized. Like the tears we cry which are stored in personalized bottles (Psalm 56). Like the cries which we cannot articulate verbally and can only be expressed in moans and groans from our spirit by God’s Spirit (Romans.
And we celebrate Jesus’s compassion. We receive with relief the gift of knowing that Jesus cares. But most of us desire the confirmation in tangible ways. In the human ministry of saints round about us. It’s usually awesome to know that we do not journey alone.
How do we receive those human manifestations of God’s compassion in our life situations (Not the indifferent sensationalists, but the genuine, helpful and hopeful)? And how do we extend our compassionate selves in the face of another’s life event?
Jesus cares
We are cared for
We care
Let’s think on these things.
In Christ’s love and grace . . .
