May 4
Full of Compassion
But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
—Matthew 9:36
Motivation is one of the most important things about the person whom God will use. If you don't have motivation, you are not going to do anything.
When it comes to sharing our faith and reaching out to others with the gospel, we offer up a plethora of excuses as to why we cannot do it. But in all honesty the reason Christians are not sharing their faith is we don’t want to be bothered with it. We lack a simple, basic burden and concern.
Let's see what motivated Jesus when He saw the needs of the people:
But when Jesus saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (Matthew 9:36–37)
You can see this pattern of compassion throughout the ministry of Jesus. He saw the people’s deepest need. He saw where they were hurting the most. He saw behind the façade. He saw the real cry of the heart. He saw them as sheep without a shepherd, and He had compassion on them.
If God is going to use you in any capacity, you will have to develop compassion for the lost. Isn’t it God’s objective to conform us into the image of His own dear Son? The Bible says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). We should seek to imitate the Lord and have that compassion, too.
Copyright © 2005 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000.