Living in the Image of God M03S06
A call to compassion presents an opportunity for the recipient to function as channel for God’s compassion to the needy. The call could be received through sensitivity to the needs of others or by direct instruction from God. The recipient is called to recognize the need, care about the needy, and seek God to determine a path toward alleviating the need. God may intervene with miracle, often through human effort of the call recipient, to provide goods or service through the recipient to alleviate the need. We discuss examples from two occasions of Jesus and his disciples feeding a crowd of thousands in a remote place.
Examples from the bible show that a call to compassion presents an opportunity for the call recipient to function as channel for God’s compassion. He can communicate the call to the recipient in several ways. We discuss one example where the recipient recognized the need through sensitivity to the needs of others and a second example where the recipient recognized the need by direct instruction from God.
Both examples illustrate that God calls the recipient to recognize the need, care about the needy, and work (while consulting with God) to determine a path toward alleviating the need. He may intervene with a miracle, often through human effort of the call recipient, to provide for the needy through the call recipient as a human intermediary.
The examples come from two occasions when Jesus and his disciples fed a crowd of thousands in a remote place (Mark 6:32–44 and 8:1–10). They illustrate receiving call to compassion, consulting with God to determine a path forward, and God intervening with a miracle to provide for the needy through the call recipient.
The Opportunity and the Alert
On two occasions, God had compassion for a crowd of thousands that needed to be fed. He was in human form as Jesus with his disciples. As God, Jesus chose the disciples to take responsibility for feeding the people. Therefore, the disciples were the recipient of a call to compassion on both occasions.
Each occasion presented to the disciples an opportunity to function as channel for God’s compassion for the crowd of thousands. Furthermore, the examples illustrate that God may alert the recipient of a call to compassion in several ways.
The Alert for the First Occasion
In the first occasion, the disciples recognized the need through normal human interactions [Mark 6:35–36]: “By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. ‘This is a remote place,’ they said, ‘and it’s already very late. Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.’” The disciples were attentive to the people and knew how long they had been there. Further, they knew that it would soon be night time and there was no place to buy food.
That is, the disciples recognized the need through sensitivity to the needs of others, accepted responsibility for doing something to address the need, and considered a potential solution to the problem. However, before making a decision, they consulted with Jesus as their human leader. Today, a person that faces such a decision would consult with Jesus in prayer.
The Alert for the Second Occasion
In the second occasion, the disciples recognized the need by direct instruction from God. Jesus spoke to them human-to-human about the need to feed the people [Mark 8:1–3]: “During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.’”
God communicated the need to the disciples by direct instruction. Jesus, as God, spoke to the disciples directly. As human, he spoke God’s instruction to the disciples. In either case, God conveyed a direct instruction to the disciples.
As we discuss in a previous bible study under Human Interaction with God, God will choose an effective way to communicate with the recipient of a call to compassion. For example, regarding the interactions between Peter and Cornelius (Acts 10:1–48), God spoke to Peter first through a vision and later through the Holy Spirit. In contrast, he sent an angel in human form to speak to Cornelius.
Seeking God to Choose Path Forward
On each occasion, the disciples showed care by initiating an assessment of the need. Their initial assessment in the first occasion was that feeding the crowd at the remote location would over-task their resources [Mark 6:37]: “They said to him, ‘That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?’” For the second occasion, they doubted they could find enough food [Mark 8:4]: “His disciples answered, ‘But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?’”
They consulted with God on both occasions to determine a path forward. Because God was with them in human form as Jesus, their consultation with Jesus served as consultation with their human leader as well as consultation with God. They presented their concern regarding food availability at the location.
INVENTORY In response, Jesus asked them to make an inventory of the available food [Mark 6:38]: “‘How many loaves do you have?’ he asked. ‘Go and see.’ When they found out, they said, ‘Five—and two fish.’” Also, in the second occasion [Mark 8:5]: “‘How many loaves do you have?’ Jesus asked. ‘Seven,’ they replied.’” The interactions illustrate consulting with God as part of assessing the resources available for meeting the need. Developing an inventory of the available resources demonstrates commitment to using the resources to address the need. Also, keeping God involved in the assessment is based on recognizing that the task belongs to him.
Channel for God’s Compassion
God intervened with miracle on both occasions. In each case, he built the miracle on the effort of the disciples. He multiplied the food the disciples provided, such that there was more than enough for everybody. After blessing the food to multiply, he gave the food to the disciples to give to the crowd. That is, God (in human form as Jesus) provided food for the crowd through the disciples.
The interactions illustrate that God channels goods and services to the needy through the call recipient in a call to compassion. In the first occasion [Mark 6:41]: “Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people.” Similarly, in the second occasion [Mark 8:6]: “When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so.”
Therefore, God (in human form as Jesus) provided for the needy through a human intermediary. As recipient of the call to compassion, the human intermediary is called to function as channel for God’s compassion.
Summary of What We Learned
A call to compassion presents an opportunity for the recipient to function as channel for God’s compassion to the needy.
The call could be received through sensitivity to the needs of others or by direct instruction from God. The recipient is called to recognize the need, care about the needy, and seek God to determine a path toward alleviating the need. God may intervene with miracle, often through human effort of the call recipient, to provide goods or service through the recipient to alleviate the need.
We discuss examples from two occasions of Jesus and his disciples feeding a crowd of thousands in a remote place.