Wednesday, February 8, 2012

"Jesus Cares About Each Individual"

"How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?" Matthew 18:12

While the Lord God is concerned about the masses of people- He loves the whole world so much that He gave His only begotten Son for our sins- He is also a very personal and individual God. He cares about each one of us individually.

When Jesus was on earth, He showed us what the Heavenly Father was like. And one of the things He showed us was His love for "each" and "every" person. He showed His love for the masses when He fed the thousands with the bread and fish. He showed His love for the masses when He died on the cross for the sins of the whole world. But He also showed His love for us individually during the personal encounters that we read about in the Bible.

The masses are made up of individuals. Individuals like Nicodemus who talked to Jesus at night. Jesus did not turn him away and tell him to come back in the morning. It is made up of individuals like the widow who gave all that she had- while every one else was noticing just how much the Pharisees were giving, He was noticing her. Then there were the personal encounters with people like the woman at the well, Jarius, the rich young ruler, the woman caught in the act of adultery, the woman with the issue of blood, the man at the pool of Bethesda, blind Bartimaeus, and the list goes on.

One last encounter I want to talk about was the maniac of Gadara. This is my favorite story of Jesus' encounter with individuals. You know the story. Jesus gets in the boat with His disciples, a terrible storm arises, the disciples wake Him up out of fear of drowning, He calms the storm, arrives at Gadara, delivers this one man, the people want Him to leave, He gets back in the boat and turns around and leaves. It is my favorite because it shows what great lengths Jesus would go to to reach just one man. This is a picture of salvation. That is exactly what Jesus did for mankind-- He went to such great lengths (the cross) to reach all of humanity, which is made up of single individuals. This morning I want to remind you that He loves and cares for you individually and personally. To Him you are not just another face in a crowd or another name of a roll. He knows you by name. He knows how many hairs are on your head. He knows what you are going to say before you even think it, nothing about you is hid from Him. He knows where you are and what you are going through and He cares about you.

Have a great day. Jesus cares about and loves each of us individually.

For further reading:
Mark 5:1-18
John 3:16
Luke 12:6,7
1 Peter 5:7

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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
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