But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
Matthew 9:36-38
Robert Moffat was one of the earliest English missionaries to go to Africa. For more than fifty years he labored to reach people who had never heard the gospel or anything about Jesus. Moffat worked faithfully although it took years before people began to respond. After a number of years on the field, Moffat returned to England to invite others to join the mission work. As he described his work in churches, he said, “Many a morning I have stood on the porch of my house, and looking northward have seen the smoke arise from villages that have never heard the name of Jesus Christ. I have seen at different times the smoke of a thousand villages whose people are with Christ, without God, and without hope in the world.” Among those who responded to Moffat’s plea was David Livingstone who gave his life to spreading the gospel.
All around us there are people who are lost and without hope. We must not allow ourselves to become calloused toward their plight. Some are outwardly moral and upright, while others are openly living in defiance to God. But in every case those who are without Jesus Christ have no hope of reaching Heaven. When Jesus saw people lost and scattered, His love and compassion for them moved Him to action. It should do the same for us. Rather than viewing the lost as an annoyance or an enemy we must look at them in compassion, praying and working and witnessing to bring them hope.Â
