“When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:36
How do you view people that
are not believers? Do you see them as
the cause of all America’s
problems? Are you angry with them,
disgusted, even hateful towards them? Do
you judge them harshly for the way they behave?
Worse yet, do you avoid them at any cost? Jesus said that they are like sheep without a
shepherd. What does that mean? For one thing, they either have no
direction—wandering aimlessly-- or they’re going in the wrong direction—following
the wrong leader. Without the protection
of the shepherd, they can get in serious trouble. Unbelievers are blind to the fact that they
need a shepherd. 2Corinthians 4:4 says, “The god of this age has blinded the
minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the
glory of Christ…” Jesus said, “No one
can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44). Ask God to give you a burden to pray for those
who do not know Him.
We need to stop blaming unbelievers for the condition of our country. God puts the blame squarely on His people. If we were behaving the way God intended, we would love these people and they would be begging to know our secret. Instead, they call us hypocrites. Shame on us.
I know that I am much more lenient on my son when he doesn't know he's done wrong as opposed to when he knows there is a rule against something (running or throwing in the house) and does it anyway. As Christians, we know the "rules" we understand what God expects from us. We should expect God to be more harsh with us than with unbelievers who don't know the rules. I've noticed the same trend in the Bible lately as well; Jesus is so harsh with the pharisees and so kind to Gentiles. Thanks for this post Judy.
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