December 24
PROVERBS 24
10 If you faint in the day of adversity,
your strength is small.
11 Rescue those who are being taken away to death;
hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
12 If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it,
and will he not repay man according to his work?
– Proverbs 24:10-12
PROVERBS 24 SHOW COMPASSION TO THE LOST
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
As believers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are to have compassion
We cannot be indifferent to those who have fallen into temptation
As members of the kingdom of God, we are called to bring the gospel
It is apathetic not to care for those who haven’t heard the good news
Show compassion to those who have been enslaved to sin
They are also created in God’s image; let us show kindness to them.
As servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are expected to follow his footsteps. Jesus never showed partiality to anyone. We have an account in Matthew 9:10-13 that shows that Jesus hanged out with sinners. It says that as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
If Jesus showed much compassion for those who are sinners and are lost, aren’t we also to emulate that kindness to those who have fallen and have lost their way or have never heard the gospel?
REFLECTION
• Why do you think some Christians can be apathetic to the lost and have fallen?
