You matter to Jesus.
Every single one of you is important. You matter. You matter to God.
The Bible says: “A vast crowd was there as He stepped from the boat, and He had compassion on them.” “Compassion.” That word means a strong, physical, gut feeling. That’s what it means in the original language of the Bible. It means you’re moved to the very core of your being.
That’s how Jesus feels about you: When Jesus sees you, when He hears your prayers, when He counts your tears, He is moved to the very core of His being.
Compassion. There is a school in England that has a course that tries to teach compassion. Over the term every student has one blind day, one disabled day, one deaf day.
And so, for example, the night before he is to spend his “blind” day, the student’s eyes are bandaged. The next morning, he wakes up and he is completely blind. He is completely helpless. He has to totally depend on others to guide him through the day.
The students don’t need to ask, “What does it feel like to be blind … what does it feel like to be deaf, or disabled?” They know. They know because they’ve been there. They’ve experienced it for themselves.
And, Ladies and gentlemen, Jesus knows exactly what you’re going through, because He’s been there. He knows what it is to be human.
- When you are hurt by someone, and your feelings are hurt, He understands – because He has been hurt too.
- When you are tired of everything, and weary to the bone, He understands – because He’s had days like that too.
- When a friend betrays you, and talks behind your back, He understands – because He had a friend do that to Him too.
I don’t know what you’re going through today, but He does. And He cares about what you’re going through. Because you matter to Him.
Two-thousand years ago, Jesus looked at that crowd with compassion. Today, Jesus looks at you with compassion.