Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were troubled and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Matthew 9:36
Once I had a dream. I took an excursion steamer to the island of Helgoland. In the hall, a wonderful worship service was held and the whole ship was filled with the glory of God. Right in the middle I went outside to the deck, leaned on the railing and looked into the water. I saw many, many people swimming in the water, out here on the high seas! I quickly ran to the captain and said: "Out there are many people, we need to save them!" But the captain said: "They are always there, sometimes more, sometimes less. This is all normal." And he went on. I ran into the hall and asked the people to come out and help. But they did not feel disturbed, since it was such an uplifting, wonderful worship!
There were only a few that let themselves be drawn out of the water. The others found it nice to swim in the sea. They would sink and drown, that was obvious. But they saw no danger and felt comfortable. The few that I could pick out, quickly began to save themselves and to draw the other people out of the water. Soon we could let down a lifeboat and gather the people. Quickly the whole ship was full of wet, tired, exhausted and hungry people. The worship-people were very angry, because their beautiful service was disrupted. And the captain and the officers were outraged because now their beautiful ship was wet and full of people who had not paid any money. But we did not feel disturbed and pulled more and more people out of the water.
Jesus has compassion for us people, so He came to us. He endured hunger and thirst, heat and cold, so that He could tell us about the kingdom of God and could save us. He saw us, how we had lost our way, how we had to live and die without hope, without consolation. Then He did everything in order to save the people that He loved so much, and to give them hope and comfort. He is the great Redeemer!
He is looking for people who participate in the rescue. Praise is good, but we must not lose sight of the people who are drowning; – Because this is why we are still on earth. We want to bring people to Jesus with prayer, word and deed!
Thank you, Jesus, You have pity on me. Because without You I’m lost like a sheep that lost it’s way. Without You there is no comfort and no hope for me. Thank You for saving me! I will go out and tell others the good news and invite them to come to You. Equip me with Your good spirit!