A Plethora of Excuses

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
—Matthew 9:36

When it comes to sharing our faith and reaching out to others with the gospel, we tend to offer a plethora of excuses as to why we cannot do it. Maybe the reason we don’t try to win people to Christ is because we really couldn’t care less.

Now, that isn’t true of every Christian. But it is true of a lot of Christians.

Jesus told a story about ten bridesmaids. Five were wise, and five were foolish. The five who were wise had oil in their lamps, and the five who were foolish did not. And when the cry went out that the bridegroom was coming, the five bridesmaids who didn’t have oil in their lamps asked the others for some.

But the bridesmaids who had the oil said to them, “We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves” (Matthew 25:9 NLT). In other words, “It’s not our problem. We are set. We’re happy. Go work out your problems.”

That is the way many people in the church feel. We don’t want to be bothered with it. We just don’t care. We hear so much about the need for evangelism. We hear sermons on how to do it. And we engage in programs designed to mobilize the church to do it. But all this is of no consequence if we lack one simple essential: a burden and a concern for unbelievers.

One of the most important things of all is motivation. We must have the motivation to share our faith. And if we don’t have the motivation, we are not going to do anything.

So, do we care? Do we care about people who don’t know Christ? Do we care if they go to Hell? Does it matter to us?

The great British preacher C. H. Spurgeon said, “The Holy Spirit will move them by first moving you. If you can rest without their being saved, they will rest too; but if you are filled with agony for them, and if you cannot bear that they should be lost, you will soon find that they are uneasy too.”

Everywhere Jesus went during His earthly ministry, He was mobbed by people who were pushing and pulling and always wanting something from Him. They wanted healing, like the woman who had spent all her money on doctors and still was sick. So many wanted a touch from the Savior.

But Jesus saw their deepest need. He saw where they were hurting the most. He saw behind the facades, behind the defense mechanisms people put up. Jesus heard the real cry of their hearts. And He had compassion on them.

Matthew 9:36 says, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (NLT).

If we are going to be used by God in any capacity, we have to develop something called compassion. We have to care.