Hi, friends. We’ve talked a lot about how listening is a great relational quality. And last week Greg ended with the question about how can we talk less and listen more. So I wanted to take that a step further. I wonder and think about this… What do you notice as you listen, and what do you observe at the core, when you’re answering questions that somebody’s asking you. I know that I want to be seen, I want to be known, and I want to be understood. And I think Jesus was really good at this. I think He was really good at seeing people. I think He was really good about stopping in his tracks and being present. He was really good at empathizing with a person’s situation, and I think he was really good about anticipating needs.
In John, Luke, and in Hebrews, the scripture has record of Jesus weeping, but one of the most memorable stories in scripture is in John when Jesus weeps over his friend Lazarus. The scripture reads in John 11 in verse 32, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” This is Mary. “When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. Where have you laid him? He asked. Come and see, Lord, they replied. Jesus wept.” So Jesus acknowledges their pain. Both Mary the sister, and the other Jews who were there alongside her.
Another story that comes to mind is in Luke when Jesus and the disciples are walking into a city, and they come across a funeral procession where a widow’s only son had died. A large crowd from the town was with her, and what does Jesus do? He stops. His heart goes out to her, and he has compassion. And I think what we learn here is just that. Sometimes the best and most relational gift we can offer is really “seeing” someone and entering in with them.
Now both stories end with Jesus raising Lazarus and the widow’s son from the dead, which is incredible. Talk about anticipating needs and wants. But I’m hoping that you can ask this question of your teammates this morning:
Is there anything you need from me right now?
And I hope you’re brave enough to share if you yourself have needs. I just am hopeful we can come around one another and really see, know, and understand one another. So lastly, I just want to say thank you so much for building genuine relationships. Thank you for walking with people, thank you for choosing to just give of yourself here at The Well, and thank you for choosing Jesus. He’s the best.
So are you guys 😊 – Eden