FRESH BREAD OF LIFE

Despite what you may have heard,  DMV employees are not zombies. It       just seems that way because they have become emotionally anesthetized.  They probably started out happy in their new job and eager to serve the public.  But the endless stream of people with the same questions, the same missing paper work, the same complaints, day after day, over time, dulls even the best of them.  It takes a rare individual to maintain empathy in situations like that.  Rare like Jesus.

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.   When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. – Matthew 9:35-36

Try to put yourself in Jesus’ position.  You have come to tell people about God and to rescue them from spiritual    destruction.  Along the way you see someone with a disease and, because you can, you decide to heal them.  But then the word gets out and you are at the center of a mob scene.

It’s endless:  crippled people, blind people, sick people, neurotic people, crazy people.  Every face wears the desperate expression of deep neediness.  You can imagine yourself throwing up your hands and shouting, “Enough, already!  No more healings today; Everybody go home.”

But instead of running out of emotional gas, Jesus looks at all the people and He gets it.  He understands why they are feeling so needy.  He has compassion for them.  He sees they are like “sheep without a shepherd.”

Here’s why this matters to you.  When you have a need in your life that only God can supply, you need to know you don’t have to take a number and wait in the back of the room, like you do at the DMV.  You need to know that you won’t be misunderstood or turned away because you don’t have the right paperwork.  You need to know that it’s Jesus behind the counter and that He gets it.  He understands what you need and why you feel so needy.  Jesus has compassion for you, not frustration.  You can trust Him.