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July 15

Divine Compassion

Jesus ... saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd. — Mark 6:34

Here we have a window through which we catch a glimpse of the heart of Jesus. Every scene of sorrow touched Him. It is a great thought that the heart of the Son of God is actually moved at the sight of human distress or want. It was this compassion that brought Christ from heaven. It was because our Father loved the lost world that He gave His Son to save the world. Does God care now if we are in suffering or in need? “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.” Does Jesus, since He has gone up into glory, have any such compassion for human sorrow on the earth? “We have not an high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.”

It is worth while to notice what kind of trouble it was that so stirred the compassion of Jesus at this time. It was because He saw the people as sheep not having a shepherd. It was not their hunger, nor their poverty, nor their sickness, but their spiritual need that so deeply touched His compassions. There were no wise, gentle, thoughtful pastors watching over the higher interests of their immortal natures, feeding them with heavenly bread, protecting them from the wolves of sin and lust, and leading them in right paths.

We learn here that no condition is so sad as that of spiritual neglect. Soul peril is far more pitiable than bodily danger or distress. Nothing moves the Divine heart so deeply as a soul exposed to the world’s enmities, wandering from the fold amid sin’s pitfalls and uncared for. Happy are those people, old and young, who are safe in the Good Shepherd’s keeping! If we have “the mind of Christ,” we also shall be moved with compassion for all souls that have no shepherd.


Daily Word of God - July 15

Public domain content taken from Come Ye Apart by J.R. Miller.


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