One of the strongest motivators when it comes to reaching the lost is compassion. You see, when we have compassion for the people around us, making disciples is not simply an assignment to complete; it becomes a mission to see those around us know the love that Jesus has to offer. When compassion is our motivator, our mindset changes so that sharing our faith is not something we have to do; it is something we get to do. It is something we must do because the lives of those people around us matter so much to us.
Jesus is the ultimate example for us when it comes to having compassion for humanity. One place where we read about His compassion in Scripture is Matthew 9. In this chapter, Jesus was traveling throughout different towns and villages and "announcing the Good News about the Kingdom" (verse 35). Scripture tells us that as He saw crowds of people in the towns and villages He entered, "He had compassion on them" (verse 36). He had compassion because "they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (verse 36). Jesus was moved by the helplessness of the people He encountered. He was moved because He knew that without Him, they would spend an eternity separated from God the Father. Do not move on too quickly from the remarkable truth that Jesus had, and still has, compassion for people. How remarkable that Jesus, the Son of God, who was there when the world was created and when humanity turned away from God, is full of compassion for people!
Hebrews 4 explains that Jesus' experience on earth gives Him a unique and deep level of compassion for people. The writer of Hebrews writes in that chapter that Jesus "understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin" (verse 15). Jesus knew what it was like to face temptation and trials. Perhaps this understanding led Him to be moved when He saw crowds of lost people in need of His hope. He knows what it is like to live on this earth and face struggles. What an incredible, compassionate Savior He is!
What about you? Do you have this same compassion for people when you see crowds of people who are lost? If not, are you willing to ask God to fill you with His compassion for others? There is a world of lost and hurting people around us. May we be moved with compassion because they are "like sheep without a shepherd."
Take time now to ask God for compassion for those around you. Ask Him to give you a heart for the lost people around you. Commit to letting that compassion drive you to share your faith with the lost people around you.
1God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. 2 For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God. 3 For only we who believe can enter his rest. As for the others, God said,
“In my anger I took an oath:
‘They will never enter my place of rest,’ ”
even though this rest has been ready since he made the world. 4 We know it is ready because of the place in the Scriptures where it mentions the seventh day: “On the seventh day God rested from all his work.” 5 But in the other passage God said, “They will never enter my place of rest.”
6 So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God. 7 So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted:
“Today when you hear his voice,
don’t harden your hearts.”
8 Now if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest still to come. 9 So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. 10 For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. 11 So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall.
12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.
14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testing we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
