Luke 7:11-17
Be Still: Lord, I want to see you more clearly, love you more dearly and follow you more nearly, day by day. Amen
Read: Luke 7:11-17
When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her…. 'Don’t cry.' Then he went up and touched the coffin …… He said, 'Young man, I say to you, get up!' The dead man sat up and began to talk and Jesus gave him back to his mother. (v13-15)
Encounter: Simplicity
I am struck by the simplicity of this resurrection story. Jesus noticed a distraught woman, came up and touched the coffin on which her son’s body lay and said, ‘Do not weep…young man, I say to you, arise’ …… and he sat up and began to speak.'
No fuss, no commotion, no flashing lights, no raised voices. Probably most of the crowd around didn’t even know what had happened. Jesus didn’t create spectacle for the sake of it. He didn’t complicate things (as we often do). He didn’t seek personal glory. He just got on with seeing and meeting a need. Low key. Simple. Wonderful.
Jesus sees the pain and grief of the widow in this story and has compassion on her. Amid his busy life, when trying to teach and train his twelve followers and with crowds pressing in on him, he sees a sad situation. He knows that the widow has lost her husband and has now seen her adult child die - one of the most painful and crushing events in life. He feels sad because of the loss, loneliness, and poverty she would face, and he immediately wants to help. ‘His heart went out to her…, he had compassion on her….' (ESV)
Our God is a seeing God and a compassionate God. ‘The Lord is gracious and compassionate’ (Psalm 111:4) ‘…for He is gracious and compassionate…. abounding in love’ (Joel 2:13). He doesn’t always deliver us from trying situations and we don’t always understand why not, but he always comes alongside us and helps us get through it.
Apply: Let’s seek to keep our lives relatively simple and not be seeking our own glory in serving God. Let's trust God’s understanding and compassion for each one of us and his commitment to never leave us or forsake us.
Devote: Thank you Lord for seeing my needs and my pain. Thank you that you are always full of compassion for me and walk alongside me through my ups and downs. Thank you that your ‘steadfast love endures forever’ (Psalm 136:1)