Today in church my pastor spoke about the compassion of Christ. More specifically he shared about Christ's compassion for hurting people, his compassion for those society had rejected, and his compassion for the lost.
One group of people he talked about specifically were the lepers. They were a people that society had rejected. In fact, once someone was found to be leprous, they were ostracized from society completely, forced to keep their distance and to yell "Unclean!" wherever they went. What is more, lepers were untouchable. Once diseased they lived in a world void of human touch. Truly, of all people, these were some in need of compassion.
Throughout his message, pastor asked us to think about specific people we know who are hurting, rejected by society, or lost. He challenged us to come up with specific ways to show compassion to those people in our lives. Toward the end of his message he said something that really struck me:
"If your fear of doing the wrong thing is keeping you from doing anything at all, keep in mind the perspective of the lepers of the world. They weren't picky - they just want to be touched because they haven't experienced that in a while."
I thought that was pretty profound and I had to ask myself how many times I have avoided reaching out to someone because of fear. So often I do not reach out to people around me because I worry that it will take more time than I have to invest or that their need is far greater than my capacity to meet it. In reality, the smallest gesture can make a huge difference in the life of someone who is hurting, rejected by society, or lost. So many people today just need to be touched.
But the question remains, am I willing to simply touch those around me? Am I willing to take a moment or two today to have compassion on the people God has placed in my life? Those who are hurting? Those rejected by society? The lost? Are you?
Mark 1:40-42
"A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean."
Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured."Labels: quotes, reflections