Moved With Compassion, Jesus Stretched Out His Hand and Touched Him
Posted by Pastor Pat on March 27, 2009
Read Mark 1:40-45
As I work through Mark’s Gospel and the life of Jesus Christ, I have been challenged to become more aggressive in emphasizing the role of the local church in mercy ministries. It appears unfortunate but we fail to hold in tension evangelism of soul and ministries of “healing.” We must become the cup of cold water to the thirsty, we must become fathers to the fatherless, and we must become a shelter to the homeless. How do we come alongside those who are buckling under the weight of life? To have the mind of Christ without His hands or feet is restrictive and one dimensional. We must maintain the gospel, we must engage our culture, and we must build His church. None of these three items are capable of being neglected.
Our involvement in our community should be a real ministry expression of this local community. Our community is already trying to address these issues, but all attempts on their part are one dimensional. We must not deceive ourselves. It is only Christ and His church that can address the souls of these individuals. The church fails when it focuses on only one area and not both. It is never either or. It is always both the soul and the body. William Barclay notes how there are three pairs of things which Jesus never separated and we would do well to consider his observations.
