Devotion
Compassionate Shepherd
David Jacobs
The world seems more divided with each passing day. Every difference is multiplied and magnified, making it seem like we truly cannot get along with others.
In Jesus' time, people were set against one another in a similar fashion, but he chose to be the bigger person and accept all the people. In this verse, Jesus sees the masses of people that are non-believers, ones that he might not take pity on and have compassion towards, and he, of course, does what most of us would not be able to do. He can see how lost they are without a shepherd, and knows that he will never be able to lead them without help.
What Jesus does directly after this verse is telling: he tells his disciples that they need to get to work. "Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest" (Matthew 9:37-38). He knows that he will be unable to touch everyone himself in the short amount of time that he has left. He knows that humans must work together in order to make the world a better place, and we must love and trust each other in order to live a life that is godly. The people that Jesus were talking about were people that had seen and heard him and still chosen not to follow or believe, and yet he still shows them compassion.
Additionally, Jesus feels compassion and pity on the crowd for how they are living their life. They are scattered abroad, fainting, lost and without a leader. He could easily try to forget them, thinking that they are in too deep and lost with or without him, but he doesn't. I wish I could say that I acted with similar compassion with people that have starkly different views that I do, but alas, I am but a mere mortal.
Prayer
We must challenge ourselves to be more compassionate to all people, not just those that agree with us and those that we know and love. All people. Trust in the good ways of Jesus Christ, as he has trusted us to act as his disciples. Will we answer his call?
Night Prayer
And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
Inspiration
We cannot surrender part of our lives to serve the Lord; we must surrender it all. We see multiple occurrences in the New Testament when Jesus says, 'follow me,' met with an excuse or other business that needed to be taken care of first. We like to think that, given the opportunity, we would follow immediately, but that may not be true. We put many earthly activities before the Lord. We make idols of technology, sports, and other activities or people. These secondary priorities cause us to wander away from the Lord instead of closer to Him. We must analyze our walk closely and remove all stumbling blocks that distract us from the Lord.
Prayer
Dear Lord, we want to serve You with all our hearts. Help us analyze our lives and remove stumbling blocks that slow our walk with You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
