We have all seen mutilated bank notes before - sometimes torn in half, plastered with adhesive tape, ruffled and in very dirty state. Yet none of these conditions would in any way diminish the value of the bank note. Though tattered and torn, its value remains the same. Whether a five, ten, twenty, fifty or a hundred dalasis note, it still retains its true worth or its purchasing power.
Unfortunately, this yardstick does not apply to human beings when it comes to how they look or present themselves. We easily discount, devalue and underate anyone who does not behave according to the norm. We consider and treat people as abnormal if they behave funny or weird. We call them names and put all of them in the same category: the mad, the lame, the destitute, the beggar, the crippled or the blind.
Jesus had a different approach dealing with these characters. Rather than cast them aside He looked at them with a more compassionate lens. His mission was to seek and to save those who were lost: the downtrodden, the sick, the maimed, those in prison; and He guaranteed them the abundant life.
His approach in dealing with these so-called ‘misfits’ or those labelled ‘the wretched of the earth’ was different. Though the authorities would have nothing to do with them, Jesus on the contrary cared for them. He never turned anyone down who needed help. He loved them all as God’s creation and showed compassion to those whom the devil had molested. In reality, in Jesus’ eyes all these people were victims of the devil’s unbridled desire to “steal and kill and destroy.” (John 10:10) The wicked one will spare no one.
The Prodigal Son left home as a young man on an adventure. The new friends he made helped him squander his share of his father’s inheritance. When he realised his mistake, he thought to himself, “I will arise and go to my father and will say to him, Father I have sinned before heaven and against you. I am no more worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” (Luke 15:18-19) Moved by compassion, the day of his return, his father gave him a warm welcome. After clothing him, he threw a grand party in his honour: that annoyed his elder brother.
Whatever bad experience the devil has put us through, God is able to restore us and put us on our feet again. Our mistake does not constitute a death sentence. We will rise again! Our God is a Repairer of broken dreams and unfulfilled destinies.
Jesus walked into a synagogue where He was scheduled to teach. There He found a woman whom the devil had kept bound and bent over for eighteen years. She could not straighten up at all. “When Jesus saw her, He called her forward and said to her: ‘Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” (Luke 13:11-13)
The religious authorities – the Sadducees and the Pharisees, instead of rejoicing over this miracle picked a quarrel with Him for healing someone on a Sabbath day. Jesus rebuked them for their hypocrisy. That lady for the first time in eighteen years had the pleasure of walking upright. Her status was changed. It was enough reason to give thanks and praise to God.
On another occasion, Jesus met with a crippled who was stationed at the Pool of Bethsaida. For thirty-eight years he was unable to receive his healing. He claimed that any time an angel stirred the water, he was unable to get there first. For thirty-eight years he lingered in that condition without help. Jesus walked straight to where the man laid and He healed him. He renewed his hope for a new lease of life.
Once, Jesus trekked from Jerusalem into Samaria to establish one woman whom everyone in the community despised for not living right. He told her all that she had done wrong and the woman was amazed. She later found out that the One she was talking to was the Messiah. She left her pitcher and ran back to the other villagers who had not held her in high esteem. “Come and see the man who had told me everything that I had done”. The entire village trooped to see this phenomenon and extended an invitation to Jesus to spend some time with them. The Samaritan woman became the first evangelist to share her experience with others who believed and gave up their lives to Christ.
Her story had changed from living in disrepute to a broadcaster of good news. She had become a new creation after a 360 degrees revolution.
David sought to extend favour to someone in dire need when he learned of Mephibosheth, the son of his close friend Jonathan. He was crippled following an accident. He was located and brought to the king who said to him. “Don’t be afraid, for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, you will always eat at my table.” (2 Samuel 9:7)
Helping to restore someone’s dignity does not diminish us in any way in God’s sight. Whenever we show concern for the welfare of others God rewards us. “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” (Proverbs 11:25) The previous verse reads “One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.” (Proverbs 11:24)
God made a covenant with Abraham: “I will bless you and will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse: and all peoples of the earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:2b-3)
Today, be a blessing to the lame, blind, dump, physically challenged, the outcast, the beggar, the hungry and the homeless. No act of kindness or goodness goes unnoticed by God.
