What Do You See?

Black lives matter. White lives matter. Brown lives matter. Blue lives matter. I have never seen America more divided across racial lines. People are pushing the narratives on all sides. Each sees things from their point of view but not from the other side. Tensions escalate. 

Rich people. Poor people. Middle class people. Educated people. Illiterate people. Employed people. Unemployed people. Married people. Single people. Religious people. Non-religious people City people. Country people. Old people. Young people. 

What do you see day in and day out when you come across others? We easily classify people according to our criteria of dress, status, and success. We love to label people. We like to classify people. 

Jesus had a label for people. It is much different than the ones we use. Read it for yourself 

Matthew 9:35-36 (ESV)
³⁵  And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.
³⁶  When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

He saw people as sheep. Very interesting. He also classified them as harassed and helpless. Sheep are not a strong species. They are not very smart either. They are unable to defend themselves from predators nor are they able to make good decisions. Sheep need a shepherd. They need a leader. They need a protector. They require a provider. They need someone to take care of them. 

That is how Jesus saw the crowd coming into Jerusalem and how He still sees people. He sees past the masquerades, the bravado, the pretense, the mistakes, the arts, the pains, the anger, the rage, and the prejudice.  He sees people as we really are. Harassed and helpless sheep. 

Maybe if we saw people the same way our world would be  less divided. We could sure use more of that.