Simple Compassion
Jesus cares that you get enough to eat today.
Mark 8:1-3 ESV says, “In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, ‘I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.’”
I am drawn to the simplicity of Jesus’ compassion over the crowd. While he has the things of his heavenly kingdom in mind, he is not unaware of the basic needs of those with him. Looking out over the crowd, he realized that too many had gathered from too far away and that they might faint on the way home without a proper meal.
Jesus felt a responsibility and concern for those who had gathered. He was not just thinking about hospitality but genuinely caring for those people, most of them strangers to me.
It makes me think about Matthew 6:26 ESV, where Jesus says, “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”
I know that I need a regular reminder that God is engaged with the everyday needs of my life. Sure, he is leading you and me toward our destiny in his kingdom, but along the way, we need lunch.
We can see the principle of what Jesus is teaching in Matthew 6. God cares about our basic needs, and worrying about meeting them is not setting our minds on the Lord; it’s not trusting him. That doesn’t mean we sit at the table and wait for food to appear magically. Proverbs has a lot to say about laziness. Instead, Jesus is showing us that the Father is invested in our daily lives and that our minds should be set on his kingdom.
When I see Jesus responding to the needs of those gathered around him, it reminds me of just how one he is with the Father.
We can rest in his goodness and plans today because he is not just involved in the big things but taking care of our daily needs. So we pray Matthew 6:11 ESV, saying, “Give us this day our daily bread.”
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