Learning to Lovewell: W5 - TUE
Caring: What breaks your heart?
Luke 7:11-15, NLT 11 Soon afterward Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed him. 12 A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said. 14 Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,” he said, “I tell you, get up.”15 Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.
While estimates vary, there are at least over 2,00 verses in the Bible that discuss issues of social justice like poverty, compassion for the marginalized and oppressed, and fairness. Why? Because God loves ALL His children and longs for us to care for each other, in the same way He cares for us.
Remember Jesus’ words after He washed the feet of the disciples; 34 “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:34-35, NLT)
So, who or what breaks your heart? This is the perfect place to start when it comes to caring for those around us. And the perfect prayer for this sentiment, prayed by Bob Pierce, the founder of the non-profit organization, World Vision, that Crosswalk has partnered with in the past and will again in the future to help care for children around the world, says, "Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God.”
We see Jesus’ heart on full display in the story about the widow of Nain. Verse 13 says, “when the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion.” In the Greek, the phrase means that Jesus was moved towards love and compassion from the deepest parts of Him. He couldn’t help but act, because that’s who he is. Why was that so important in this story?
He wasn’t just weeping over a mother who lost her son. As a widow, it meant that her husband had also died, and with the boy being her only son, in their society, she would end up lost, destitute, cast out by society. Jesus didn’t want to see that happen, and I don’t think he wanted her without any family left. And so he performs the amazing, “impossible” miracle of resurrection.
There are other times when Jesus wept for the pain of others. That same heart, the huge heart of Jesus, was the part of him that broke on the cross. It broke for all the hurt and pain that sin brings into this world; hurt and pain that he never wanted us to have to experience, but hurt and pain that we chose over him.
So instead of leaving us to suffer the consequences of our own choices, he comes to suffer all of them for us. That’s how much he loves us. His ask of us in return? Simple; be willing to do the same for others.
Luke 7:11-15, NLT 11 Soon afterward Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed him. 12 A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said. 14 Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,” he said, “I tell you, get up.”15 Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.
While estimates vary, there are at least over 2,00 verses in the Bible that discuss issues of social justice like poverty, compassion for the marginalized and oppressed, and fairness. Why? Because God loves ALL His children and longs for us to care for each other, in the same way He cares for us.
Remember Jesus’ words after He washed the feet of the disciples; 34 “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:34-35, NLT)
So, who or what breaks your heart? This is the perfect place to start when it comes to caring for those around us. And the perfect prayer for this sentiment, prayed by Bob Pierce, the founder of the non-profit organization, World Vision, that Crosswalk has partnered with in the past and will again in the future to help care for children around the world, says, "Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God.”
We see Jesus’ heart on full display in the story about the widow of Nain. Verse 13 says, “when the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion.” In the Greek, the phrase means that Jesus was moved towards love and compassion from the deepest parts of Him. He couldn’t help but act, because that’s who he is. Why was that so important in this story?
He wasn’t just weeping over a mother who lost her son. As a widow, it meant that her husband had also died, and with the boy being her only son, in their society, she would end up lost, destitute, cast out by society. Jesus didn’t want to see that happen, and I don’t think he wanted her without any family left. And so he performs the amazing, “impossible” miracle of resurrection.
There are other times when Jesus wept for the pain of others. That same heart, the huge heart of Jesus, was the part of him that broke on the cross. It broke for all the hurt and pain that sin brings into this world; hurt and pain that he never wanted us to have to experience, but hurt and pain that we chose over him.
So instead of leaving us to suffer the consequences of our own choices, he comes to suffer all of them for us. That’s how much he loves us. His ask of us in return? Simple; be willing to do the same for others.
- Have you been “moved to compassion” for someone recently? If so, what was it and why do you think it moved you so?
- If Jesus were to show up before you today, what in your life do you think would move him to act?
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