It's easy to skip over this when you read the gospels,…

…but have you ever noticed how many times the Bible says, "the Lord saw her...," or "Seeing the crowds...?” It is recorded for us a lot in the four Gospels. It's easy to skip over these words "He saw." My friend Paul Miller has been saying for decades that one of the most wonderful things about Jesus is that he "sees" people. He looks. And then what he sees ignites compassion and leads him to action.

This should not surprise us. In the Old Testament, in Exodus 3 at the Burning Bush, when Israel is suffering in terrible slavery the Lord says to Moses "I have surely seen the affliction of my people... I know their sufferings and I have come down to deliver them…" He sees them. Then he is moved to come down to them to deliver them. (This, of course, foreshadows the incarnation and the cross of Jesus Christ.) In Ezekiel 34 not only does he see his people harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd, but then he says "Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out." He doesn't just notice people but he seeks people. (This, of course, foreshadows the mission of Jesus who said he came “to seek and to save the lost.)

It starts with “seeing.“

Why is this significant to me? Because, to my shame, so often I am oblivious to the suffering and hurting people around me. I am so committed to my tasks, agenda, circumstances, and my own massive self preoccupation, that I do not see people like Jesus sees them.

Before I act on behalf of hurting people, I need compassion for them. I need that "painful sympathy" to arise in my heart. But before that will happen, I need to see them. I need to pay attention.

What about you?

Musing’s from Pastor John, August 8, Click to Email Pastor John