August 15, 2024 Devo

Do you know what absolutely astounds me about Jesus? His utter and complete selflessness. He never made it about Him. He spoke over and over again about coming to “seek and save those who are lost.” He made it clear that He hadn’t come “to be served, but to serve…and to give His life as a ransom for many.” The focus of His Heart was always outward. It was on Them. It was on Us.
Our passage today is a great example. As Jesus was teaching His disciples, a huge crowd of people started coming to Him. Notice what He DIDN’T say. “Wow, looks like I’m going to be teaching for a while, and my stomach is starting to growl. Can you guys rustle me up some food?” He wasn’t concerned about HIS hunger. He was concerned about THEIRS. Neither did He seize the moment to bask in His popularity. He could’ve said, “Look at that huge crowd coming to hear me preach! I’ll bet I’ve got more people coming to hear me than any Rabbi in Judea!” Instead of thinking about HIS needs or HIS fame, His mind was on THEM. That selflessness is the heart of the character of Christ.
This challenged me today. I’m sure that most of you are a lot more selfless than I am. It hit me how this quality of selflessness would truly change me as a husband and father if I could allow that nature of Christ to flow through me. Instead of coming home thinking about how hungry I am, or focused on how tired I am, or wondering what my wife could do for ME, what if I asked God to help me to think about HER day, HER needs, and what SHE may be going through? Or what if I showed up at church and set aside how many people were or were not there, but truly sought God to help me be sensitive to what my people may be dealing with or how God might want to touch or help or encourage those that He gives to me that day? Perhaps God would show up in my home and my church in ways like He never has before.
Maybe that’s the key. It was Jesus’ compassion that preceded the miracle that was about to take place. What if God is not waiting for us to believe more, pray more, or do more? What if He’s waiting for us to CARE more? Maybe if we had more of the selflessness of Christ WITHIN us, we’d experience more of the power of Christ flowing THROUGH us.
Let’s camp on that idea this week. Let’s seek Christ for more of His selfless character. Let’s ask Him to give us eyes and hearts that focus on others, rather than on ourselves. Maybe the breakthrough we’ve been looking for in our marriages and in our churches is a simple, but powerful understanding. It’s not about us. That’s God’s Word for you today.