Jesus Wasn’t A Loner
Jesus wasn’t a loner. And God didn’t make mankind to be loners either. When God made Adam and placed him in the Garden of Eden, the Bible says He came and spoke with him. God made man to communicate. God gave us a voice and a personality for a reason.
We’re humans. We’re carefully created, beautifully crafted in the image and likeness of God, humans. We should talk to each other. My husband and children know this is a motto I try to live by. You’ll often find me in line at the supermarket talking to strangers. Put me in an elevator with someone and I’ll know at least three things about them by the time we get to our floors. Yes, I’m the one who asks the waitress their name. I’m the one who discusses the weather with the gas attendant. I’m the one who finds every reason in the world to have a conversation with someone new.
While I’m not trying to boast of myself, or trying to treat my behavior as Scripture, there’s somewhere I’m going with this. The Bible says those who want friends must show themselves friendly. (Proverbs 18:24) What does it mean to be friendly? It means to be warm and pleasant to others. It means to be approachable, outgoing, and accessible. Jesus was friendly.
When Jesus was fulfilling His earthly ministry, He approached men and women of various backgrounds and reached out to them. As He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw four fishermen, Peter, Andrew, James, and John and He called to them. (Matthew 4:18-21) When Jesus came upon the leper, He reached out to him and made him whole. (Matthew 7:1-3) Jesus took the time to deliver many who were afflicted, oppressed and possessed of the devil. He called out to tax collectors. Jesus healed those who were outcasts, considered unclean.(Matthew 9) Jesus even accepted those, like the sinful woman no one else would accept. (Luke 8) Jesus was friendly. Jesus was compassionate and welcoming. He was warm and kind.
Look at the character and personality of Jesus in Matthew 9:35-38, “Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'” The heart of Jesus was never to be a loner, but rather to take every opportunity He came across to reach out to people. He felt compassion for those who had no pastor and He expressed His heart for someone to reach out to those people, knowing that the harvest of souls was plenty but the laborers, those willing to reach them, were few.
Mark 16:15, “And He (Jesus) said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.'” How will you be a witness and win people for Jesus of you’re afraid to open your mouth? How will you be a witness and win people for the kingdom if you’ve got no time of day for any small talk? How will you be a witness and bring the promise of salvation to those who don’t know, if you’re a loner. No, Jesus wasn’t a loner, because if He would have been, we’d all be lost today.
Christians should be the friendliest, most outgoing and compassionate people out there. Christians should be the ones who others recognize as always smiling. Christians should be initiators of the conversations that may start with the weather and end up with the promise of Heaven. Let’s not be loners, brothers and sisters. Let’s live like Jesus.
Be Blessed,
Pastor Renée
