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REFLECTION

The theme for our reflection is “God’s compassion and abundant opportunity” Compassion is a strong feeling of sympathy and sadness for the suffering of others and a wish to help them. Abundant opportunity means numerous privileges given to a person to play a significant role in achieving a purpose. God’s compassion and abundant opportunity means that God manifests His compassion through Jesus Christ and creates gracious opportunities for us to be saved and used for His glory. We shall reflect on the fact that God’s compassion for us is the reason for our salvation and the abundant opportunity to serve.

Beloved in the Lord, Jesus’ ministry has shown us that God is intimately and compassionately involved in our affairs. We are told in Matthew’s account of the Gospel that “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:35-36) In other words, Good News about God demonstrating His love and compassion through Jesus Christ to anyone who accepts Him as Lord and Saviour. Again we see the evidence of His compassion when John wrote “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17) The truth is that no one meets Jesus and remains the same, there is physical, spiritual, moral and emotional transformation or restoration. To mention but a few, Jesus healed and redeemed a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years (Matthew 9:20), He restored the life of the Synagogue leader’s daughter (Matthew 9:25), He restored the sight of two blind men (Matthew 9:29-30) and He redeemed or delivered a man who could not talk because he was demon-possessed. (Matthew 9:33). I am sure when we also pause and reflect on past and present we shall count many instances when God has been gracious and compassionate towards us. Dear child of God, haven realized that we are beneficiaries of God’s compassion, we are obligated to live a life of worship, gratitude and obedience in return. Let us not take the compassion and grace of God for granted. Let’s show gratitude every day through our morning devotions and prayers.

Again, we have discovered that after we have received God’s grace and compassion, we are given the abundant opportunity to serve Him and as a result experience His ultimate gift of salvation. The reality is that many people want to experience the compassion of God but are not willing to avail themselves of the abundant opportunity to dedicate their lives to His service. It is for this reason that Jesus said to the disciples “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matthew 9:37-38) The is calling we who have been beneficiaries of His compassion and calling, ” Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? (Isaiah 6:8). If you have indeed received God’s compassion then respond to the abundant opportunity given to you to serve by saying “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8). Our prayer and conviction is that the Lord should commission us to fulfil Jesus’s instruction of the Great Commission when He said ““All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20) We have been given a great and abundant opportunity to serve and to have our names written in the Book of Life. Let us make use of this great and abundant opportunity at workplaces, marketplaces, bus stops and anywhere the opportunity will be given to us to preach the Gospel of salvation. It is important to note that the more we preach, the more people become aware and also become beneficiaries of God’s compassion and calling. Both the church as an entity and we as individual Christians or believers have the obligation and calling to preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ through all available means and at any available location.

In summary, we have discovered that we have been saved, called and given the great opportunity to serve because God first had compassion on us through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We have been admonished not to take for granted the compassion of God upon our lives but as a sign of gratitude and obedience respond to the abundant opportunity to serve Him with all our lives in propagating the Gospel. Shalom.

PRAYER

Almighty God, we are grateful for showing us compassion through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Thank you for the abundant opportunity given to us to serve you. May You continue to empower us through the Holy Spirit to preach the Gospel until the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.