05 Jul LOVE = REACH Day 24

Luke 6: 32-33 says, “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do
the same.”

Motivation is everything! Well, maybe not everything, but close. This is where reaching people for Christ starts. A little over half-way through this 40 days together, but I think we must take a moment and ask ourselves…. Why do we want to reach people? Our response is crucial.

Looking at the life of Jesus – I think we can find the correct answer to this question – the answer that we should be able to arrive at. Throughout Christ’s ministry on earth, there is one simple phrase that could sum up His heart toward people: He was moved with compassion. What does it look like to be moved with compassion? Without compassion, our efforts to reach people will start out strong on an emotional high and then slowly fade as our lives get busy and we realize the immense cost of getting involved in people’s lives.
In the Gospel of Mark, chapter 1, we find a story in which Jesus demonstrates true compassion for us. Jesus was walking and talking with His disciples when a man afflicted with leprosy fell to his knees in front of Jesus and begged, “If You are willing, You can make me clean” (verse 40). Mark records Jesus’ response in verses 41-42: “Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ As soon as He had
spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.” I believe Jesus used this opportunity to instruct both His disciples and us by demonstrating how we should respond to the challenge of exercising compassion for people.

As we look at this story, we must recognize what lepers represented to society in Jesus’ day. Leprosy and the infections that it caused literally rotted away the flesh of their bodies to the point of death. I believe that this is a picture of modern-day sinners. Sin is a disease that slowly rots the life out of people to the point of death.
The kind of compassion Jesus demonstrates isn’t just a feeling of pity for us; He actually moves on our behalf.

Jesus stretched (got out of his comfort zone), he touched (he was involved in the situation), and he spoke (used authority, but also related and built relationship with the leper). Let us be challenged to use the model Christ gave us to love and reach our community.

REACH:

Ask God to help you be moved with compassion. That’s a big prayer to pray, but it is easy to be callous from all we see, experience, and encounter on a daily basis. Let us know become indifferent to those who need Jesus.