What the World Needs Today
The world appears to be in a mess and getting messier everyday. If I ask the average Christian, “what does the world need today?” The would probably say, “Jesus” to which I would respond, “NO.” Jesus has already done everything He needed to do 2000 years ago when He came, was born of a virgin, crucified on a cruel cross, buried, resurrected and now sits at the right hand of the Father. There is nothing else Jesus needs to do.
What the world needs today is for those who call themselves Christians to rise up and take the “Great Commission” in Matthew 28:18-20 seriously and “go and make disciples of all nations.”
There is a story in Mark 1:40-45 that I believe has the answer to “What the world needs today.”
Mark 1:40-45-NKJV-40 Now a came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”
41 Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” 42 As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. 43 And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
45 However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.
World Condition: What I want to point out is in V.40 here is a Leper that was an outcast, ostracized from society and rejected by the church. The only people he was allowed to socialize with were people that were in the same condition that he was in with no possibility of acceptance by society, his family or the church. There are thousands of individuals that desperately want to be a part of something, for belonging or for a cause to fight for, They just want someone to tell them the truth.
World Solution: Verses 41-44 show what the churches responses should be. Jesus was moved with compassion. The definition of compassion is “to empathize with someone who is suffering and feel compelled to reduce their suffering. When was the last time that we looked at a lost person and were moved with compassion? I often have heard Christians say, “we just want them to look and be more like Jesus,” but the reality is that most of the time we just want them to look more like us. Jesus was moved with compassion and then notice what He does next, He touched the man and then spoke the words of healing to him. The world is looking for someone to “touch them” and show them we care. People are struggling to connect, to be apart of something, to have a cause to live for and if necessary to die for. We as Christians have to be the hands of Jesus that reach out and touch the untouchable, show them the love of Jesus then we will be able to bring Jesus to a lost and dying world.
World Response: In verse 45 we see the response of the leper or of the world. He was told to tell no one, but he couldn’t contain himself. He spread the word and the bible says that “Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction. Jesus said, “If I be lifted up I will draw all men unto Me.” John the Baptist said, “I must decrease and He must increase.” The thing is that His increasing is not dependent on our decreasing, because He is all the God He will ever be, but our decreasing is totally dependent on His increasing in our lives. Notice that the people were drawn to Jesus not the leper that had been healed. They listened to him, but went to Jesus, because Jesus had “touched the untouchable” and healed him from the inside out.
So what the world need today is for the body of Christ, the church, to reach out and touch a lost and dying world with the love of Jesus and allow Him to heal them. Then we will see the change to the world that only Jesus can bring.
Working Until He Comes,
Robert
