The need; The need to feed!

So I was reading in John chapter 6 and Mark chapter 6 also about Jesus and the feeding of the 5,000. I have read this story hundreds of times, but for the first time, it cut deeply. Here's why.

First, I should explain that this happened at a time most inconvenient to Jesus. He was mourning the death of John the Baptist, fleeing persecution and was just plain worn out from teaching and healing many along the way. He was fleeing to the other side of the Sea of Galilee for rest and to refuel spiritually. Jesus wanted alone time. (I can't tell you how often I complain about not enough "alone time".) Jesus and His disciples arrived on the opposite shore only to find thousands of people waiting for them. (Now, if I am going to be honest, I don't think I would have reacted the same way as Jesus.) He invited them to sit down. He taught them, healed them and fed them. Mark 6:34 states it this way, "When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things."

I don't have a lot of compassion for others when they interrupt my plans or need more of meI than I feel I can give. I only see my problem, not their needs. Jesus looks straight past all of his wants and desires into our needs. He sees the lost and responds to their need.

The convicting part is that it is my job as a follower of Christ to respond to the needs of others. We all have people in our lives, (perfectly placed by God, I might add) that are lost. They are hurting. Can you really say that we look past our own little bubble and do something to fulfill that need? We are to be sowers and reapers. If we do not sow seeds to be harvested, we are not fulfilling our duties.

There is a little boy who lives down the street from us. He wanders alone, often until after dark. His family doesn't seem to care what he does, nor when. It breaks my heart to see his pain. I know he hurts. I also know he is too tough to admit it. I have let that stop me. I can't let it stop me. I have to stop using fear or time as an excuse to not "sit with him".

So I challenge you. Who has God placed in your life that is like a sheep without a shepherd? More importantly, what will you do about that person?