(June 10, 2024) Richard Winter shares ‘food for thought’…

Imagine this setting…
Great restaurant, soft music, your intended seated beside you, his hand reaching over and touching you, and voice filled with passion says, ‘I love you.’

Or settings like these…

• Men bonding with men who jovially say, ‘Man, I love you. What a game!’ after a great football match.
• Women doing something similar when they go shopping with another woman.

Ever looked for such settings in the New Testament?  They’re not to be found!

• Jesus never said, ‘I love you’ to the woman at the well.
• Nor is He recorded as saying, ‘I love you’ to the disciples.
• Rather He asked them if they loved Him!
• He demonstrated caring love to many!

This Setting is Findable…
It’s Matthew 20:29-34, telling of two blind men receiving sight… a setting that helps us understand how to demonstrate Christian love without using many words! Matthew records –

‘As Jesus and His disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

‘The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” He asked. “Lord,” they answered, “We want our sight.”

‘Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed Him.’

(i) Look at it from the side of the blind men (v30-31)

• They seized the moment to ask something from Jesus.
• They weren’t afraid to ask for a miracle.
• They were grateful for what they received and immediately followed Jesus.

(ii) Look at it from Jesus’ viewpoint (v29,32,34)

• He had left Jericho heading to Jerusalem and a large noisy crowd was following.
• Despite the crowd around Him, He heard a cry for help from the roadside – ‘Lord…’
• And how did Jesus react to such a plea? He had compassion resulting in action: A classic case of ‘I love you, I see your need so I will give to you.’

Christianity has to be more than words – Christianity must move us into action on behalf of others! Jesus focused  on the needs of the individual not the crowd walking along with Him with its noise, chatter, and excitement.

When someone, even in a crowd, needs help and calls your name, look at the individual not the crowd. This is your call to action! Now you can’t grant sight as Jesus could… but often such callings are a cry for help in some area that you can assist with. And not requiring many words! Probably just a wise, short comforting prayer or some other act of kindness.

Illustration
Two men are walking along a beach from different directions. One stops to look at the other who is bending down and throwing starfish that have been washed onto the sand by a high tide back into the sea.

He asks, ‘What does it matter if these starfish are on the sand and not in the water? That’s what high tides do.’

The second man picks up another starfish and throws it back into the sea, saying: ‘Well it matters to that one, to those others too.’

Can we catch the principal of care in action and apply insightful caring to our Christianity? Here’s an example by Jesus where He –

1. Listened Intently (v30)
Those blind men shouted and He listened deeply to them!

• Many of us find it difficult to listen to the needs of others… you ask what’s wrong and the list can be endless.
• You have to listen to what’s behind the words to identify the real needs of others.
• It’s called empathy!

2. Stopped Immediately (v32)
It’s possible to listen and then move on not interacting – Jesus showed that we need to take time out to be personal with others.

Jesus didn’t leave the scene… He stopped there on His journey to listen to the blind men’s needs. In other words, He stopped what He was doing and tuned in! We need to do likewise… be prepared to stop what we’re doing and really tune in to the needs of whoever is seeking our help.

Even if you can’t meet the immediate needs of the individual, you can at least reach out and connect by praying for them, or wisely counsel. And not using too many words wherever the encounter takes place… shopping plaza, in the street, over the fence, in church!

3. Enquired Caringly (v32)
One can sense Jesus asking with feeling, determining the need as He lovingly asks, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ Nine words from His heart!

This was one of those moments where the rubber hits the road – and the focus is individualised! Not what others can do for you, but what you can do for them!

And this is where fear may come in… fear of involvement or accountability, even of stress. There is  always a price to pay for Christian involvement, and instead of boldly daring to be involved, we often look for others to pay the price. The reality is that God places us in certain situations to mature us, to grow in understanding – feeling – the needs of others, and to know how God works with people.

People will come to us with needs and we mustn’t carelessly, roughly answer, ‘So! What do you expect me to do?’ That’ll sound like ‘Oh, go find someone else!’ We must act determinedly in caring love!

4. Moved Compassionately (v34)
Jesus recognised the faith of the blind men and had compassion on them. Compassion is splagchnizomai – to be deeply moved sympathetically!  

• God loves us every day… if He didn’t care for us we would have no hope in life.
• Sadly many never hear His voice – but they’ll see His acts of love through us if we emphasise with people’s needs and move to help.
• Hardened hearts turn away from compassionately seeking to help others… we must help where we can. As Christ’s church we mustn’t have hardened hearts, but emphasise with the needs of others!
• ‘A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart… What you say flows from what is in your heart’(Luke 6:45NLT).
• We must no longer be babies in Christ but mature saints! Jesus says we are to be salt of the earth and light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16).

5. Met Needs (v34)
Actually no need is too great to bring to Jesus.

• Those blind men didn’t want money, but the most important thing in their lives – to see!
• And Jesus touched their eyes, meeting their greatest need!
• They got what they wanted and followed Jesus.

That’s what happens when people have a ‘Come to Jesus moment.’ But… those blind men may never have had their Jesus moment, that miracle, if He had kept on going. Jesus obviously had things to do, places to go especially Jerusalem, people to meet and more – but He deliberately stopped and called out to those two seekers, asking what they needed. And then He met their greatest need!

There are many spiritually blind people who need to see Jesus and we can help meet their greatest need! We can touch them by personalising our contact with them and acting out Christian love, even not saying lots of words. Jesus only spoke nine words to those needy men… demonstrating that He cared and asking what could He do for them!

(i) Attention:
Have you ever realised that when we understand the needs of others, we’re really saying, ‘Thank you, God, for saving me and meeting my needs. Now what can I do for this person?’ A scenario of ‘One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see’ (John 9:25NKJV) and sharing about the miracle worker.

(ii) Attitude:
Our attitude as we travel life’s highways should be one of ‘Let me tell others about who gave me sight – spiritual sight.

(iii) Action:
Now we can’t work miracles such as Jesus did for those blind men and others… but sharing and praying in faith, and with the Holy Spirit’s help, we can give great comfort to any needy person we stop to listen to. And we need only speak a few words, even ‘our own nine’ such as: ‘I’m praying for your need. Be touched by Jesus.’

(iv) Apprehension:
We really have no excuse to just walk on by!

(v) Archetype:
The Good Samaritan never spoke a word but acted lovingly, stopping immediately and attending to the poor man’s needs! Indeed, he went the proverbial extra mile!

I pray that you will not miss God-arranged opportunities to care for needy individuals… acting with Christian love to meet a need, and saying ‘I love you’ without using many words.

___________________________________________________
Dr Richard Winter pastors The Connection Church, Huntington Beach, California. Link: OnlineConnect@gmail.com
___________________________________________________