There is something fundamentally good about taking time to see a person. Simon the Pharisee once disdained Jesus’ kindness toward a woman of questionable character. So Jesus tested him: “Do you see this woman?” he asked (Luke 7:44). Simon didn’t see a woman– he saw a streetwalker, a scamp.
What do we see when we see. . . the figures beneath the overpass, encircling the fire? Or the news clips of children in refugee camps? What about reports of grueling poverty at home and abroad?
Scripture says when Jesus saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them. Compassion—a movement from deep within—a kick in the gut! Perhaps that’s why we turn away. Why look suffering in the face if we can’t make a difference? Yet what if by seeing, we were moved to compassion? Moved not just to see, but to do.
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