Meeting real needs
Matthew 9:35 "Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom and healing every disease and sickness."
If we were in a position to do one thing and only one thing for a person, we would focus on the most important thing we were capable of doing for them. The clear answer to this is to share the Gospel and hopefully open a door for the Holy Spirit to come into their heart.
Often, though, people have barriers that prevent us from jumping straight to the eternally important message of grace and salvation. These barriers can be very basic human needs, such as food, clothing and shelter. It can be sickness or disease.
While these conditions in and of themselves pale in comparison to the importance of the Gospel message, they can be critically important to that person at that particular time. If a child is hungry or feels unsafe, the best educational environment or opportunity in the world will be meaningless to them because they aren't focused on it (or can't focus on it.)
Jesus recognized His dual service role. He could meet their immediate needs as they saw them (sickness and disease to be healed), in preparation for meeting their biggest need as He saw it (eternal life.)
Many times we attempt to convince others that what they interpret as being their biggest and/or most important needs are really unimportant in relation to what we see as their biggest and/or most important needs. The interaction between us turns into an argument over the validity of needs versus meeting those needs.
A person's perception is their reality. Some perceptions are false, and we should speak truth into a person's life. But we also have to meet them where they are. We will never lead someone to a different place with a different focus if we simply lament over where they are starting from, how we believe they should be at a different place than they are, and wondering why they are wrestling with the things they are wrestling with.
Do all that you can to meet the immediate needs that a person perceives to be most important. This will lay a foundation for helping them see their needs as you might see them.
If we were in a position to do one thing and only one thing for a person, we would focus on the most important thing we were capable of doing for them. The clear answer to this is to share the Gospel and hopefully open a door for the Holy Spirit to come into their heart.
Often, though, people have barriers that prevent us from jumping straight to the eternally important message of grace and salvation. These barriers can be very basic human needs, such as food, clothing and shelter. It can be sickness or disease.
While these conditions in and of themselves pale in comparison to the importance of the Gospel message, they can be critically important to that person at that particular time. If a child is hungry or feels unsafe, the best educational environment or opportunity in the world will be meaningless to them because they aren't focused on it (or can't focus on it.)
Jesus recognized His dual service role. He could meet their immediate needs as they saw them (sickness and disease to be healed), in preparation for meeting their biggest need as He saw it (eternal life.)
Many times we attempt to convince others that what they interpret as being their biggest and/or most important needs are really unimportant in relation to what we see as their biggest and/or most important needs. The interaction between us turns into an argument over the validity of needs versus meeting those needs.
A person's perception is their reality. Some perceptions are false, and we should speak truth into a person's life. But we also have to meet them where they are. We will never lead someone to a different place with a different focus if we simply lament over where they are starting from, how we believe they should be at a different place than they are, and wondering why they are wrestling with the things they are wrestling with.
Do all that you can to meet the immediate needs that a person perceives to be most important. This will lay a foundation for helping them see their needs as you might see them.
posted by Robert Jory Allen at
3:46 AM
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