Awareness

Last Thursday, I was sitting at my desk. As they often do, students came in to my classroom during lunch to eat and visit. I was eating my own lunch and trying to finish some time sensitive work. At one point, a student looked up from talking to one of her friends, and asked me what I thought about what they had just said. "To be perfectly honest," I responded, "I wasn't listening. I'm trying to finish some work; if I need to be in on a conversation, you need to let me know beforehand."

I enjoy having students in my classroom at lunch. Some of the most interesting conversations happen at this time. However, there are times where we just get busy, to the detriment of our relationships.

This is something that has always impressed me about Jesus. Throughout His earthly ministry, He stayed busy and on the move; even in the midst of this, He was always aware of what was going on around Him. He was aware of people and their needs, and He never missed an opportunity to invest in others.

Take a look with me at Luke 8:40-56. 

And as Jesus returned, the multitude welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him. And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was an official of the synagogue; and he fell at Jesus' feet, and began to entreat Him to come to his house; for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went, the multitudes were pressing against Him.

And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind Him, and touched the fringe of His cloak; and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. And Jesus said, "Who is the one who touched Me?" And while they were all denying it, Peter said, "Master, the multitudes are crowding and pressing upon You." But Jesus said, "Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me." And when the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace."

While He was still speaking, someone came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, "Your daughter has died; do not trouble the Teacher anymore." But when Jesus heard this, He answered Him, "Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she will be made well." And when He had come to the house, He did not allow anyone to enter with Him, except Peter and John and James, and the girl's father and mother. Now they were all weeping and lamenting for her; but He said, "Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep." And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died. He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Child, arise!" And her spirit returned, and she rose immediately; and He gave orders for something to be given her to eat. And her parents were amazed; but He instructed them to tell no one what had happened.

Notice a few specific details from this passage:

1. In the midst of the multitude, Jesus heard the cry of the individuals.
2. He was aware of something as simple as touch.
3. He sympathized with the woman. He even addressed her as "daughter," a term of endearment that comes from the same Greek word which Jairus, the synagogue official, used to describe his biological daughter.
4. The first thing He did after bringing Jairus' daughter back to life was to order food for her.

Throughout the Gospels, we can find many passages like this one. The point is this: Jesus was aware of the needs of those around Him, and He sought to meet those needs according to the will of His Father.

Next week, we will take a closer look at meeting needs, but for us this challenge is great enough: we need to be aware of what is going on around us. No matter how busy we are, there is opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. God has put us in these times and these circumstances for a reason; let's not waste it.

Bibliography

Goodrick, Edward W., John R. Kohlenberger, and James A. Swanson.Zondervan NIV Exhaustive Concordance. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Pub. House, 1999. Print.

New American Standard Bible. La Habra, CA: Lockman Foundation, 1977. Kindle.