Focus passage: Nehemiah 1
The worst sin is not to hate, but to be indifferent to everyone’s pain.
In small town America, a fire at a neighbor’s home was to topic of discussion for weeks. In the big city, a murder in the next block might not even be noticed. I do think we find it harder to be compassionate. We touch too many lives to grieve for them all. We hear of so many deaths on the television every night that we become callous. They are people we don’t know and places that we seldom visit. Yet, I know that God calls me to care about the people around me. I need to let my heart be broken by the concerns of others. Nehemiah shows me what compassion is. He shows me a caring heart.
- He asks v. 2. I don’t know if Nehemiah saw something on their face or if he was just having a casual conversation, but he took the time to ask how things were back in Jerusalem. He shows concern about the fate of others. Nehemiah reminds me to ask about how people’s lives really are. He shows me that I need to move beyond just saying hello and really care about the lives of others that I know. Sometimes, I don’t ask because I confess that I just don’t want to be involved. God wants more of me. He wants me to care.
- He listens v. 3 The news was worse than he could have imagined. Instead of Judea being a great nation, the people in the homeland were struggling and the city was in shambles. It had been almost 100 years since the first group of exiles had left Babylon for Judea, yet the people had made little progress. My inclination is often to interrupt or to sugar coat things when they sound too bad. Sometimes you just have to let people get it off their chest and not interrupt. Let them give you their pain.
- He cries v. 4 Nehemiah is affected by this news. He mourns, fasts and weeps for days. This was his homeland and these were his people. He understood that something was still wrong between the people and God. The people had left with every expectation that God was going to rebuild the nation. Decades had passed and that hadn’t happened. My normal reaction is to listen and shake it off. I have heard how cancer or divorce has impacted their family. Now I want to forget it all and get back to my life.
In the moment of that conversation, Nehemiah’s life was changed. His heart was damaged with the cares of others and the book of Nehemiah details how God used this man as His tool to overcome the problems that the Jewish people were facing. God needed a man whose heart was so broken that he would change the focus and future of his life. I am challenged by his heart. I question whether I would have the same sense when I hear of the 100th murder in my city or when a close friend’s life has imploded? Would I cry for them even when my life is good? The obvious answer is no. Yet, I sense the Lord calling me to be a more caring person. There is much to learn from Nehemiah about compassion and how to overcome problems. God has recorded the story of this man who lived over 2400 years ago so that we might learn to care.
No comments:
Post a Comment