A BURDEN FOR LOST SOULS
What made Jesus at a time when there were no cars, planes and trains to travel from one city to another, one village to another, preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing various sickness and diseases? What made Jesus so consumed with the work of the Lord that there were days He didn’t have time to eat because He was busy ministering to others? What made Jesus put aside His own needs and devote Himself to the needs of His Father? What made Jesus leave the comfort, beauty and glory of heaven to come and experience the suffering on earth and be crucified like a thief when He had never stolen or committed any sin? It was nothing but a genuine burden for the salvation of lost souls.
Matthew 9:36 says “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.” Jesus saw people who were confused, distressed and dejected. He saw people who were going through life without any clear direction, people moving in the wrong direction and living their lives without God’s guidance. Jesus wasn’t irritated and put off when He saw this. He didn’t start judging and condemning them. Rather, He had compassion on them. Jesus had tender feelings for them, He was deeply concerned about what would happen to them if they continued to live without God, He was ready to go to any extent to ensure they didn’t experience eternal separation from God. Jesus looked at them with the eyes of mercy knowing the eternal suffering and agony they would have to go through if they didn’t amend their ways and turn to God.
Compassion fuels in us a burden for lost souls. It stirs up a strong desire to reach out to those who are lost and perishing. It places something heavy on our heart; a responsibility that makes it difficult for us to just sit down and watch people walk on the road that leads to destruction. It empowers us to step out in spite of our fears and weakness, and do something to bring others to God. Without compassion you can’t take action. Without compassion you are surrounded by family, friends, colleagues and neighbors that don’t know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour and you don’t commit to praying for their salvation, you don’t bother to tell them about the saving grace of Christ. Without compassion, people attend funerals as a social event where they are more concerned with what to wear, what they will eat and drink that day, than with where the soul of the person that has been buried has gone to.
Jesus spent every moment He had here on earth wisely. Jesus utilized His time here on earth to the fullest because every day His heart was full of compassion. Compassion that infused Him with a strong burden to reach out to the lost, heal the sick, feed the hungry, and minister to people’s pressing needs (Matthew 14:14,Mark 1:41, Luke 7:13, Matthew 15:32, Matthew 20:34). A heart of compassion makes you a soul winner for God, a heart of compassion makes you live wisely. Proverbs 11:30 says ‘He who wins souls is wise.’ A truly wise person is someone who doesn’t just work hard and pray well to be blessed. A wise person seeks ways to be a blessing to others. And what blessing can be greater than the blessing that rescues people from the clutches of darkness and brings them into the Kingdom of light.
Wisdom isn’t knowing the Bible from cover to cover. Wisdom isn’t being able to quote all the Bible verses on evangelism. Wisdom is knowing what God would have you to do in every situation, every season that comes your way. Wisdom is knowing that we are in a season where the harvest is plenty but the labourers are few, and yielding yourself to God to be one of the labourers He will use to bring in the harvest of souls (Matthew 9:37-38).
May the Lord fill our hearts with compassion and a burden for lost souls so that when heaven releases the roll call of shining, bright stars who made their mark here on earth; who lived wisely and turned many to righteousness, our names won’t be missing from that list (Daniel 12:3).
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