When you enter a hospital today, infection fighting protocols are in place to combat the spread of dangerous germs.
Jesus, seeing his disciples repeatedly exposed to the unbelief of the Pharisees and Sadducees, warned them to guard against a different kind of infection — the infection of unbelief.
This podcast speaks of the symptoms of the infection and offers some infection fighting measures every Christian can take.
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A week or two ago, when Dave prayed at the close of the worship service at our church, he said something like, “God – thank you for the love that is in this room.” It made my day. That’s what should be here – always. Love is something that Christ expects to go beyond this room, beyond our church fellowship, and even beyond our Christian circles. As followers of Jesus, we’re to imitate him. That means loving as he loves.
How well does the Christian church do that?
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Ever felt like God wasn’t paying any attention when you were praying?
My friend, Tom, can see things I cannot see. When we go hunting bunnies – he always sees them. Hunting groundhogs – Tom spots them, I don’t. Hunting deer – I see trees where he sees Bambi. I am that way with cars. As I drive my car, I will say to Laurel, “Do you hear that?”And although she hears nothing, there’s a wheel-bearing or a tire with a defect making a noise. Laurel doesn’t hear it. I do. Laurel has come to the place that if I tell her the car is making a strange noise, she trusts me and we get it repaired. And I am the same with Tom – if he says to stop when we are hunting together, I stop. I look. I listen. I trust him.
Do you know people like that? They are just plain good at seeing things. Maybe they see things when hunting. They have hunters’ eyes. Maybe they hear something in an automobile that is out of place. They have mechanic’s ears. Maybe they see things in the Bible that you might miss. They have spiritual eyes. You need spiritual eyes to see what’s happening in our passage today. If you don’t look carefully, you’ll walk right by them.
Learning to see with spiritual eyes can help us see compassion when it’s otherwise hidden. It can help us understand how to remain faithful when God seems to be ignoring us.
Enjoy the podcast, and learn to see God’s compassion, when it’s hard to find.
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