When Jesus fed the 5,000 it was not without a lot of elbowing the disciples to get on the stick. In fact, you know, they weren’t keen on the idea at first. In Matthew 14:15, the disciples saw the huge crowd and then turned and said to Jesus, “Send them away!”
Can’t you just picture that?! I can: I see the disciples looking out over the fields at all these people who came all the way out to the countryside, hot as it was, to hear Jesus... they came from miles around with not so much as a knapsack of lunch, they didn’t bring money, nothing in their pockets for food... I mean, where were these people’s heads? Didn’t they know they’d get hungry? Didn’t they think before they left home that morning?
I can identify with the disciples. “Lord, send them home. They got themselves into this mess. Serves them right. Sure, they’re hungry, but it shouldn’t be our problem. It’s not our responsibility. They made their own bed, now let them lie in it – it’ll teach them a lesson.”
Have you ever said that? Thought that? I know I have. We’ve got this thing that, “You get yourself into a mess... get yourself out.” Well, putting aside for a moment lessons that people should learn...
Let’s us learn a lesson from Jesus’ response. The Bible says that when He saw these people, his heart went out to them. He was moved with compassion when He saw the hungry crowd. And you know the story from there. Jesus appealed to the disciples out of His own compassion.
And He’s asking us to do the same today. Because there’s a man who’s been brain-damaged from drug abuse. There’s a teenager who thought he knew better than his coach and ended up paralyzed. There’s a guy who broke his neck on a motorcycle driving drunk. There’s a mother who has five children — three of them mentally handicapped because of her own addictions. All of these people should have known better.
With a little responsibility, a little forethought... these disabling conditions could have been avoided. Each one of those people should have known better. But like the hungry crowd who looked at their watches too late, and thought, “Uh-oh, I’m in trouble,” they’re in sad straits. The guy in the wheelchair from drunk driving, the guy with fried brains, those children... all of them need help. And although a few of us might shun them, Jesus has compassion for them... and He would move us to still make a difference for His namesake... no matter who made the messy bed and now must lie in it.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
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