How do you feel about those who do not yet follow Jesus? In our increasingly polarized culture, it is easy for us to ignore one another, as we retreat into our social-media echo chambers, only interacting with those who think the way we do. And those who live in large urban areas only tend to socialize with people they go to work or school or church with: it’s rare for them to mingle with those who live nextdoor.

And when believers and non-believers do interact, it’s getting harder and harder to find common ground. Long gone are the days when American culture was deeply informed by the gospel. Instead, the culture has been moving farther and farther away from Christian morals and ethics, to the point where Christians and non-Christians listen to different music, sport different fashions, and certainly espouse different political ideas.

So, Christian, how do you feel about those who don’t yet follow Jesus? Well, Jesus Himself experienced an even bigger cultural chasm than we do. For He was perfectly holy in every way, but was surrounded by nothing but self-seeking rebels against His righteous rule. If anyone had reason to be uncomfortable reaching out to unbelievers, it was Jesus.

And yet verse 36 says that His reaction to unbelievers was that of compassion. He understood that those who don’t follow Him are truly lost, like sheep who don’t have a shepherd to show them where to find food and water and shelter. And so instead of looking down on their ignorance or despising them for the selfish choices they made, He continued to do the ministry to which He was called: teaching them and bringing healing into their lives. And, of course, He would eventually lay down His life for them – and for us too.

Perhaps this is why, instead of simply telling His disciples to follow His example, he first directed them to pray that God would provide the teachers and healers that the lost sheep so desperately need. For in order to pray such a prayer with sincerity, it is first necessary to care about lost people the way that Jesus does.

So, Christian, do you care enough about lost people to pray that God would send preachers, teachers, and healers to help them? If so, maybe that’s a sign that your heart is in the right place. And if you do feel such compassion, maybe God is calling you to be part of the answer to your own prayers. Maybe you’re the one God is sending after all.

Matthew 9:35-38 (NASB)

35 And Jesus was going about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
36 And seeing the multitudes, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd.
37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
38 “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”