Jesus Isn't Decaf (By Naomi Meyers)

One of the most amazing stories of Jesus’ earthly ministry has to be the feeding of the five thousand. Not the actual feeding part. I’m not surprised that Jesus was able to make 5 loaves and 2 fishes feed 5000 men. If you’ve read through His earthly ministry, you aren’t surprised either. Water has been turned to wine. People have been healed. Demons cast out. After all that, making a huge meal on a beggar’s budget is no big surprise. No. The surprising part is the reason Jesus stopped to teach them in the first place. The words stop me in my tracks every time. “He looked at the crowd and was filled with compassion toward them.” (Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-41; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-13)

Jesus knew every single heart in that crowd. He knew who was just riding the wave of excitement. He knew the skeptics, the information gatherers, the ones reporting back to the religious leaders. He saw the hearts of the truly interested, those who needed healed, those who needed loved. He knew he’d have to feed them. He didn’t disparage them for forgetting their lunch or tell them to come back when they weren’t hungry. Jesus looked at them, saw the deepest need in the darkest heart, and was filled with unfailing love, unprecedented compassion. 

Then I lay down my Bible, catch a glimpse of the news, and am immediately inundated with the ugliness of humanity. My heart is broken over senseless homicides. My soul is shattered by stories of children violated in selfish depravity. My mind is bewildered by random robberies, assaults, and vandalism. I don’t understand it. As I read the stories, I am tempted to start taking sides. My human sensibilities cry out for revenge, restitution, retribution. Yet in the same instant, I am reminded that God looks on all of us with compassion. Although I may not be able to wrap my finite mind around human behaviors, there is one thing I know with absolute certainty–as He did so many years ago, Jesus looks down on the people of this world and is overcome with infinite love and unfailing compassion. 

See, God is love. (I John 4:16) It’s easy to believe God loves the nice neighbors next door, the regular church attendee, our family and friends. Of course God loves all those good people. But what about the other people? The ones we judge worthy (or not) based on how they look, smell, or talk. What about those luring young girls into prostitution? What about the money launderers, the schemers, the power abusers? What about rapists and murderers?  What about abortion doctors and the Kevorkians of the world? 

Up on our high horse, adjusting the folds of our self-righteous robes, we shake our heads in disbelief that even their mother could love them. We judge these souls based on the casual perusal of a news article written by someone who likely had only half the facts. Judge, jury, executioner, that’s us. We respond to odious, offensive crimes with a fervent, “I hope they get what they deserve!”  Yet even as the words form in my brain, I am simultaneously reminded that God, in compassion, sent Jesus, full of compassion, to die for me, for you, for everyone–the pimp, the pastor, the perp, the pediatrician–because God is full of love and compassion toward humanity that is decidedly void of both. 

This love is not the silly, misused word we so glibly throw around when talking of food, sports, or shoes. No. This love is deep, infinite care about our lives, our hearts, our souls.  It is a love that transcends everything else, longing to see us safely through the pitfalls of the world and bring us to Heaven. No matter what juncture at which we choose to accept it, it will always be there. It doesn’t get tired of waiting, doesn’t take a break, doesn’t give up, doesn’t change. It is true I Corinthians 10:13 love. This love never ends. It is this love that breeds compassion. Care for every single thing in every life. It sobs with those who sob. It belly laughs with those who belly laugh. It never fails, no matter the season of your life. Or my life. This love and compassion is for everyone. The victim and the perpetrator alike. This is the love God has for all humanity. 

It is also the love He commands us to reciprocate. Not toward Him. Toward others. Toward all others–regardless of race, creed, social standing, lifestyle preference, rap sheet, or religious affiliation. None of that matters to Jesus. Remember Zaccheaus? No one liked him. By his own admission, he’d gained at least part of his considerable wealth by overcharging people for taxes, yet Jesus chose his house for dinner. (Luke 19:1-10) And it wasn’t just Zaccheus. In fact, when Jesus went to have dinner at Matthew’s house, he hung out with a whole group of ill-reputed people. Many of them were His followers. (Mark 2:15) What made them follow Jesus? Did they feel His love, compassion, lack of judgment and desire to be in His presence? Do you exude the same love? Or do you pick and choose, write people off as too dirty, too unworthy, too strange? 

What if Jesus had done that to Peter? He denied even knowing Jesus. Not just once, but three times! Because we run our lives on the “three strikes and you’re out” rule, I have trouble thinking we’d be taking him back into the fold. Not Jesus. He takes Peter back. Then sends him out to help build His church. Love, compassion, mercy, grace. (John 18:15-18, 25-27; John 21) Everything Jesus commands us to do is exemplified by His life. He commands us to love, forgive, be merciful, show grace. (Mark 12:31; Ephesians 4:32; Luke 6:36; Matthew 7:12)

This is the mark of a true Christ follower. This is the way God loves. Completely. Compassionately. Unreservedly. Blindly. He calls us to do the same. If you look at any part of humanity–individually or as a group–and feel anything less, you have missed the brief. If you see the homeless, the addicts, the prostitutes as a blight on society, you need to read the Gospels again and see what Jesus thinks. If your heart does not wholly subscribe to the command to love your neighbor, you are simply not following Jesus.  

Love is patient. Love is kind. Love doesn’t abuse or misuse. Love doesn’t keep a tally of wrongs, hold grudges, or seek revenge. Love doesn’t quit when everyone else does. Love retains hope and offers second chances. Love is of God. (I Corinthians 13; I John 4:8) Make no mistake, this is not a rubber stamp that everyone gets to Heaven no matter what they do because God loves them. Love doesn’t equal approval. It is more important than that. Neither does it negate punishment. It’s more important than that too. Love says, “No matter who you are, what you’ve done, where you came from or currently reside, your accent, your hair color, your faults, I see you as a beloved human being created in God’s image. I want the best for you. I want you to know Christ and to meet Him because you met me.” 

Does your life say that? Do your interactions with people, both the elite and the downtrodden, speak love and grace into their lives? Are you a true follower of Jesus?  Do the things that break God’s heart, break your heart too? Are you a living, working, replica of Jesus in a world of brokenness, anger, and hate? If you look on any part of humanity with disdain, regret, animosity, or ill will, ask God to change your heart.  Ask Him to bring you to an indiscriminate place of love, compassion, mercy and grace toward all people. You can do no less, because this is His command. This is the way God loves. (Psalm 145:9; I John 4:7-8, 16)