After visiting Tyre and Sidon,
near the Sea of the Mediterranean, Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee. He must have been exhausted because He climbed a hill and sat down. “A vast crowd brought to him people who were lame, blind, mute, crippled, and many others. They laid them before Jesus, and he healed them all.” The crowd was amazed! The mute talked, the lame walked, the crippled straightened up, and the blind could see again. And they praised the God of Israel. Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.” This is the location in the story where I need to add my interjection. Jesus just returned from a long excursion from a pagan nation where he had to cast out a demon of a Gentile woman. He climbed a hill and sat down, probably totally exhausted. And crowds came to him, bringing the people they love so that he could heal them. He continued to give, and laid hands on them. The outpouring of his love never stopped! Then he thought of their hunger needs and asked his disciples to feed them. His compassion for others has to be commended! Not once did he think of himself. His ability to keep on giving is a never-ending outpouring of his love. The disciples replied, “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?” This story reminds me of Elijah when he was hungry, and the Lord told him to go to the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon (that was pagan) where he would meet a widow who would feed him. "But when he got there, feeling totally exhausted, she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.” Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!” The woman did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah. 1 Kings 17:8-16 Now let me return to Jesus. Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?” They replied, “Seven loaves, and a few small fish.” So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd. They all ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. There were 4,000 men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children. Then Jesus sent the people home, and he got into a boat and crossed over to the region of Magadan.” Matthew 15:29-39 Not once did Jesus stop when his ministry started, even when he was exhausted. He was always pouring out healing and compassion - which reminds me, once again, of Elijah, the widow and her son. “Some time later the woman’s son became sick. He grew worse and worse, and finally he died. Then she said to Elijah, “O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to point out my sins and kill my son?” But Elijah replied, “Give me your son.” And he took the child’s body from her arms, carried him up the stairs to the room where he was staying, and laid the body on his bed. Then Elijah cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, why have you brought tragedy to this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?” And he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, please let this child’s life return to him.” The Lord heard Elijah’s prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he revived! Then Elijah brought him down from the upper room and gave him to his mother. “Look!” he said. “Your son is alive!” Then the woman told Elijah, “Now I know for sure that you are a man of God, and that the Lord truly speaks through you.” 1 Kings 17:8-24 You see, GIVING out of compassion is an outpouring of God’s love, and healing and restoration is the natural expression of it. I pray to God that this poem is a blessing to someone.
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