Bella Vista Church of Christ
LIFELINES
February 6, 2002 Randall Caselman
Serving The Jesus In Others
The gospel narratives record sixty encounters Jesus had with other people, either individuals or groups. Eight of these were with people of high standing, the social elite; twelve were with average folk, much like us; and forty were with the hurting, the poor, hungry, sick, bereaved, the outcast and downtrodden, the losers of His day. On each of them, He had compassion.
To our hurting world the only eyes, ears, hands and feet Jesus has are ours. We are His heart of compassion. We are His instruments for doing good. If we do not see and respond to the hurting of our world, who will? Offer yourselves as instruments of righteousness "For we are God's workmanship, created in Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Becoming the eyes, ears, hands, feet and compassionate heart of Jesus is our mission.
Why is it so important that we be compassionate?
1. Destiny depends upon how we treat others. In the sheep and goat judgment of Matthew chapter twenty-five, eternal destiny was based on whether or not compassion was extended. Christianity includes seeing and serving the Jesus in others. Mere church attendance without compassion is not the way of Christ.
2. Compassion is a personal response to another's need. I was hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick, in prison; and you cared enough to look after me. I had a need, you had compassion on me. You see, if God rules our lives, we will be compassionate. If God lives in us, we will not resist His providential leading us to those who need our help either spiritually or physically.
3. Serving Jesus is accomplished by serving others. "As often as you have done it to the least of these, you have done it to me." How we feel about a brother is how we feel about God. How we talk about a sister is how we talk about God. How we treat one another is how we treat God. Someone has written a poem in which the narrator hoped to meet Jesus and instead met a dirty little child whose mother was sick in bed. Finding no time for the poor little girl, the narrator later dreamed he saw Jesus who said, "I came unto you in lowly guise, But you couldn't see me with selfish eyes." The humbled narrator concludes, "I learned a lesson that tragic day--That Christ is always coming my way!" When will we admit that God comes to us in others? "Some have entertained angels by serving others and were not even aware of it. You see, angels don't always come with clean clothes, shining faces and smelling good.
4. Religion that does not see Jesus in others is hypocrisy. The priest and Levite were religious, well meaning, good folk, but they were more interested in a religion than in people. When our religion is more interested in religion than in people, it is ugly religion. Jesus spoke of such when He said, "You hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices: mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law: justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former." The priest and the Levite saw a bloody body on the side of the road, the Good Samaritan saw Jesus. That's compassion!
5. Compassion is found in small things. That night in the upper room Jesus knew He was about to die for the sins of the twelve, but He washed feet anyway. Compassion is best seen in small acts of kindness and caring: washing feet, the widow's mite, the cup of cold water in His name, a sandwich at McDonalds, a few cans of formula, a lift down the highway, ten gallons of gas, a night's sleep in a real bed, a smile, an encouraging word. Sometimes compassion is just saying, I forgive you.
We must remember that as the world looks at the church, they don't see the difference between sound doctrine and loose doctrine. What they see is our good works of compassion; what they see is Jesus in us. Attempting to be doctrinally correct without a heart of compassion is something less than conforming to the image of Jesus. Let us be intent on both.
Paul urges us to become instruments of righteousness, living sacrifices. Becoming the eyes, ears, hands, feet and compassionate heart of Jesus is our mission. Scripture tells us without any doubt that, as children of God, we are predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son .... Are we willing?
Randall Caselman
