How Can I Help?

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9:36

We can sometimes become so focused on our own circumstances, situations, issues, etc., that we miss what’s going on around us. How many people, do you think, noticed Zacchaeus as he climbed the tree that day in the hope of catching a glimpse of Jesus? He was a man despised by his own community; a man that nobody ever wanted to see. But he is seen. Jesus stops, looks up, and calls him by name.

Jesus was constantly surrounded by crowds and yet He never failed to see the individual. Jesus sees those who look for Him. He hears those who call out to Him — like Bartimaeus in Mark 10, crying out from the roadside while the crowd tries to silence him, until Jesus stops and asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus is filled with compassion for those whom society has abandoned, like the woman who simply wanted to touch the hem of His garment (Luke 8:48), or the leper whom no one would go near, until Jesus reached out His hand and touched him (Luke 5:13).

Jesus was no respecter of class or status – if you needed Him, He was there. Whether it was a royal official, a Roman centurion, a Canaanite woman, or a paralysed man lying forgotten beside a pool— Jesus was ready and willing to help. He stopped when everyone else kept walking. He reached out to those that society wouldn’t touch. He heard the voices that others had long since stopped listening to, and He walked alongside the ones from whom others kept their distance.

The question this raises for us is, do we have this same heart for people? It is easy to help when it is convenient — when the need is straightforward and fits neatly into our schedule. But Jesus didn’t operate that way. He knelt in the dirt when life got messy. He crossed social boundaries. He made time when time was costly. Whatever the need, He stopped and asked, “How can I help?”

Let’s not miss the needs of those around us; those who feel unseen and unheard. Let us not be afraid to stop when everyone else keeps walking.

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