Over the next four months, we’ll be exploring what it looks like to see, care for, lift and love one another, just as Jesus would. In this blog, we’re inviting you to consider what it looks like when disciples of Jesus see one another. When we see one another as Jesus would, we recognize the God-given dignity and potential of every person.
Following Jesus shapes more than just the things we believe. It shapes how we see people.
Throughout the gospels, Jesus often saw things that others would miss and people that others might overlook. Through our world often assigns worth based on a person’s status, skills or appearance, Jesus chooses to look deeper and dignify every person’s humanity. He sees little children and the powerful alike, those with great faith and those barely clinging on to hope; in each moment, He reveals how God sees humanity.
As followers of Jesus, learning to see like Him is part of our spiritual formation. Today, as you reflect on these four moments, we invite you to allow Jesus’s care, love and compassion to shape the way you see others.
1. Jesus sees children
Children are among Pastor Enoc’s faithful ministry partners, accompanying him on visits to the homes of the sick and elderly.
People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them.
When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”
MARK 10:13-14
To say Jesus had a lot on His plate is an understatement — He had a ministry that took Him across Israel, teaching, healing and feeding thousands. His disciples, possibly not seeing little children as part of that ministry, rebuked parents for bringing their children to Jesus. You can almost hear the disciples:
“He just finished a debate with the Pharisees, He’s got a meet-and-greet with a young entrepreneur this afternoon, and then we’re off to Jericho… Jesus is busy!”
…Except Jesus’s firm yet gentle voice breaks through:
“Let the little children come to me.”
Jesus shows us how God sees children: not as an afterthought, but as heirs to the kingdom of God, to all the gifts of a good Father.
2. Jesus sees brokenness
Yulelny (furthest right) had her home destroyed by a flood. But thanks to the support of the local Compassion centre, her home — and her hope for the future — was rebuilt.
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
Jesus wept.
JOHN 11:33-35
Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, and a beloved friend of Jesus, had passed away from illness. Yet Jesus, in the days leading to Lazarus’s death, wasn’t in any hurry to see him. What was keeping Jesus from seeing his dying friend?
If you’re familiar, you’ll know that this story ends with Jesus raising Lazarus back to life. But stay in the middle for a second. Jesus doesn’t stay away forever; He makes His way to Bethany, the village where Mary and Martha lived. There, He encounters sorrow. He sees the pain of His friends. He is taken to Lazarus’s tomb.
And He weeps.
Jesus does not ignore brokenness. Instead, He faces it head-on and shares in the burdens of those who are suffering.
3. Jesus sees faith
For Evelin (unpictured) and other Compassion tutors, teaching children about the power of prayer from an early age is both a priority and a privilege.
The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”
MATTHEW 8:8-10
Imagine Jesus asks to come to your house. What a thrill! You call home: “Honey, get the good wine out. And kids, if I see socks on the floor…”
That was the opportunity this Roman centurion had. With a trusted servant laying sick back home, there was no better time to have Jesus over.
But the centurion knows something about Jesus. This Man has cast out demons and healed every disease and sickness (Matt. 4:23). The centurion knows there is no ill that Jesus cannot cure — even from a mile away.
So the centurion says, “No — just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”
Jesus’s eyebrows shoot up. He shakes His head with a chuckle. Jesus recognizes the man’s great faith: a faith that understands the authority of Jesus. The centurion knows that sickness must obey Jesus’s word, and that He has the final say over every situation.
4. Jesus sees through eyes of compassion
Shamim knows what it’s like to have a shepherd’s heart; through Gifts of Compassion, Shamim has a small flock of six sheep, which help provide for his family’s livelihood.
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
MATTHEW 9:36
This is the heart of God for humanity: compassion. Jesus’s ministry of teaching, healing and salvation came not out of obligation or hesitation. Rather, it came from a heart overflowing with love for the vulnerable, for those who are suffering and in need. The presence of brokenness in our world doesn’t cause God to pull away or even pity us. Rather, it moves Him to compassion.
At Compassion, our desire to see children released from poverty comes first and foremost from our desire to follow Jesus. As we learn to see people as Jesus does, we are moved by His compassion to love and care for children, families and communities facing poverty. This is what it looks like to see one another as Jesus did.
