“Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man, carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow…” Luke 7:12a
When Jesus arrived in the city of Nain, He saw a funeral procession. When Jesus sees something, He doesn’t see it the same way we do. I like the next verse, “And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, ‘Weep not.'” “He had compassion on her.” It was His compassion (love) that prompted Him to do something about her situation/need.
As I read this account it made me think about God’s gift of salvation. He saw us dead in trespasses and sin and had compassion on us. It was His love that caused Him to come to earth and give His life for us so that we might “live again”. If you noticed in the story of the widow’s dead son, no one asked Jesus to raise him from the dead, the widow didn’t plead with Him, no one asked Him to do anything, His compassion drove Him to do it. Nobody asked Jesus to come to earth and give His life for our sins, no one called out to Him to make a way of escape for us, He came up with the idea without ever having been asked first. He did it, He thought it up, and He carried it out…. all because He loved us so much. All because He had compassion on mankind.
Have you ever had anyone do something for you after you asked them to do it? That’s not so uncommon, lots of people do what they are asked. But have you had someone do something for you without having to ask them first? Well, this is exactly what Jesus did for us. His love and compassion gave us eternal life, if we will accept it.
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