Seeing the world with compassion
It is easy for Christians to be angry when we look at the people in our society. So many are lost in sin. So many live their lives for their families, for their work, for their bucket list, and they care nothing for Jesus. There are those who block out their thinking with drugs and alcohol. There are those who are living in relationships that Christians would disapprove of, and there are those who are angrily anti-Christian in their attitudes. With so many who don’t live in line with the gospel, it is easy to see non-Christian people as enemies or at least viewing them with suspicion.
The danger that arises from this is that the stance of some Christians towards the wider world is one of accusation and anger. Christians write angry letters to the editor condemning something said about Christianity or at odds with Christian belief.
Friends, we should not be like this. We need to see the world as Jesus did.
In Matthew 9, Jesus saw crowds coming to him from the countryside. They were likely coming for healing due to his well-deserved reputation. Perhaps they wanted to hear for themselves what this man was teaching. Whatever the case, these were people with issues. With problems. Weighed down by religion and tradition. Eager for meaning and help.
Jesus looked upon these crowds and had compassion on them. Compassion, not judgement. Compassion, not accusation. The crowds did not yet believe in Jesus. They had all kinds of mixed motives and wrong ideas. Yet they were needy and coming; Jesus saw them with compassion.
I think the wider world would have a different view of Christians if we all shared Jesus’ attitude to the wider world. Imagine if, instead of engaging in some kind of argument online with someone hostile to Christianity, we prayed for them, tried to understand them, and were intentionally winsome towards them?
The conversion story of Rosaria Butterfield, the former lesbian college professor, is a great example of this. In response to her articles against a Christian group on her campus, many people wrote hateful letters in response. She could easily ignore those. One man said he prayed for her and invited her to dinner to talk about the issues. This, over time, led to a great work of the Spirit in her life. It is easy to be defensive when attacked, but what we need to be is thoughtful and compassionate in how we respond.
Compassion will also drive evangelism. We must not see speaking to others about Jesus as some kind of duty. Our heart won’t be in it if that’s the case. No, we must understand that so many are lost and desperately need Jesus, even if they don’t understand that they do. That will drive us to speak. Evangelism is ultimately an act of love and compassion. We see a need, and we strive to meet that need. People are lost, and we know what it is like to be found.