Day 303

Jesus and People

Read: Luke 7-8

As we learned yesterday, Jesus was always going about doing good—to people. As someone has said, “How is it then that I am so often satisfied just going about.” Wherever Jesus met people, he was a blessing to them. “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37).

Jesus met a centurion who had a sick slave, and he made the slave well. He met a widow who was taking the corpse of her only son to the cemetery, and he raised the young man from the dead. He met the disciples of John the Baptist, and he sent them back to their master with words of encouragement. He met a sinful woman, and he forgave her, and in doing so taught a lesson to a Pharisee for his benefit. His disciples were caught in a storm at sea, and he rescued them. He met a man full of demons, and brought him back to normalcy. He met Jairus whose daughter had just died, and raised he her from the dead.

We do not have the power to do healing miracles, except on rare occasions when God chooses to work in that way through us. But there is much good we can do. We can support medical missions in places where people do not have the kind of care we take for granted. We can feed the hungry and teach them to feed themselves. We can be loving and encouraging to the many hurting people who cross our paths. Above all we can invite people to be saved through Christ.

PRAYER
Father, take away any satisfaction we have in living selfishly and enable us to go about doing good. Amen.