[Jesus] was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. — Matthew 9:36
We were in line at the ice cream store when I noticed him. His face bore the marks of too many fights — a crooked nose and some scars. His clothes were rumpled, though clean. I stepped between him and my children, using my back to erect a wall.
The first time he spoke, I didn’t hear him clearly and so just nodded to acknowledge him. I scarcely made eye contact with him. Because my wife wasn’t with me, he thought I was a single parent and gently said, “It’s hard raising them alone, isn’t it?” Something in his tone made me turn to look at him. Only then did I notice his children, and I listened to him tell me how long his wife had been gone. His soft words contrasted with his hard exterior.
I was duly chastened! Once again I had failed to see beyond outward appearances. Jesus encountered people whose outward appearance could have turned Him away, including the demon-possessed man in our reading for today (Mark 5:1-20). Yet He saw the heart-needs and met them.
Jesus never fails to see us with love, even though we have scars of sin and a rumpled nature that shows in our stutter-step faithfulness. May God help us to replace our haughtiness with Jesus’ heart of love. — Randy Kilgore
Father, may the focus of our lives
never disrupt our ability to see
others with the same eyes that
Jesus sees them. Grant us Your heart.
May we yearn to introduce others to You.
READ: Mark 5:1-20
If you look through the eyes of Jesus, you’ll see a needy world.