Dave’s Monday Blast – July 9, 2018
3. We should respond with compassion. When we hear about the atrocities done to people (I always think about the global refugee crisis), our hearts should go out to them in sympathy. This is an essential character trait of anyone who is a follower of Jesus. Look at His response in Matthew 9: 36: “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.”
Sometimes our reaction to a national tragedy is to shrug out shoulders and say, “I’m glad I wasn’t there.” But Christians are told to put on a heart of compassion and kindness Colossians 3:12. This applies to both those whom we know and those we’ve never met. Although we may not be able to put a comforting arm around strangers on the other side of the country, we can express empathy for them by bringing them before the throne of God in prayer, not only for physical and emotional healing but for salvation as well.
4. We need an eternal perspective. The unexpected loss of life has a way of opening our eyes to the fact that life is transitory. James reminds us not to presumptuously expect our lives to turn out as we’ve planned, saying, “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away” James 4:14. If there’s one thing we can learn from calamities, it’s that we will die, and we don’t know when. That’s why we must always be ready to meet the Lord and to share the gospel with the lost so they will have the opportunity to be saved.
It is tempting to withdraw in fear and uncertainty as we see the world becoming a more dangerous place, but this is the time when Christians need to be salt and light to a dark and hurting world. Although we don’t have all the answers to why tragedies happen, we are the only ones who have a message that can change someone’s eternal destiny. And offering them the good news of the gospel is the most compassionate and loving thing we can do in times of calamity.
