When we read scripture, instead of looking to remember a verse, I think it better to discover the person hidden within. Not that I cannot find great verses to memorize, verses that come to mind when I need it most. But verses can only carry me so far. If I learn the person, I learn about God.
Most of all, I learn about Jesus. Jesus certainly did not fit the image people had for him. He did not come off as the typical carpenter's son, nor did he act like the savior of the world. No wonder people were confused. Jesus as a person was totally out of the box.
Lately, I have been thinking of Jesus as a man on a mission, one preaching the kingdom of God to the world. He walked countless miles, endured privations, cold nights, and endless crowds in an effort to get the message across. And what happened? He was endlessly interrupted, called upon, sought after for his healing powers.
And how did Jesus deal with this? He did try to remind others that his mission was to preach the good news. But most of the time, in fact, every time recorded, he stopped his mission to offer compassion to another. Whether it was a leper, a women outcast in her society, a child dying, Jesus stopped whatever he was doing.
Not only did he stop, he reached out. He touched those in distress. He let his humanity bring his compassion to another by touch, by power going out from the hem of his garment, from water turned into wine.
This is the Jesus I want to remember, to contemplate, to imitate. If I can likewise bring compassion to another through a touch, a thought, a hug, then I have come to understand the Jesus of the Gospels better.
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