Jesus the compassionate

I am having rather a bad day.

I needed to shop for health insurance on the national health insurance exchange.  That in itself is a bad day.

Then I found out that they've made dental insurance for children under 21... mandatory.  We have never purchased dental insurance, because we can do math.  When you add up the cost of the monthly premiums over 12 months, it far exceeds the cost of simply paying out-of-pocket for your dental care.

But now it doesn't matter.  If you have any kids under 21, you have to buy them a policy.  If you don't, they won't sell you a regular health insurance policy.  You can buy the dental policy from a different company, but you have to provide proof that you purchased it, or you can't buy health insurance.  And you have to buy health insurance.  This makes me want to scream and tear my hair out.  We are no longer free, people.  We are no longer free.  We are not allowed to make our own decisions anymore.  It's just a matter of time before we aren't allowed to read the Bible.  Mark my words.

So we must remember that Jesus is God, and that He is sovereign.  He loves us, and He already died on the cross to save us.  We are living in a non-permanent age, and the end of this age will come.  At that time, if our faith is in Jesus, we will be ushered into a New Heaven and a New Earth where there will be no more stress, no more sickness, no more pain, no more injustice, no more frustration and no more worry.  There won't be any more health insurance or even any need of it, and to that I say, "Hallelujah."

In preparation, we need to soak our souls in the Word of God.

We need to fall deeply in love with the Christ who gave Himself for us.

We need to shore up our confidence in the omnipotent God who rules the Universe, even though He often seems to let the evil side run with slack.  We must have faith that He has good reasons, and His purpose will stand.  He is wise, loving, just and almighty.  Evil will only continue for as long as He allows it to continue, and then it will come to a decisive end, like a millstone cast into the sea (Revelation 18:21).

We need to know the promises of God and trust in them, because it's going to get worse before it gets better and we need to stand firm through everything that comes.

It helps me to look at scriptures that expose Jesus' heart to me, places where I see His love, kindness and tenderness displayed.  This helps me to love Him and trust Him.  Here's one of my favorites:

Soon afterward 
he [Jesus] went to a town called Nain, 
and his disciples and a great crowd went with him.   
As he drew near to the gate of the town, 
behold, a man who had died was being carried out, 
the only son of his mother, and she was a widow,
and a considerable crowd from the town was with her.   
And when the Lord saw her, 
he had compassion on her 
and said to her, “Do not weep.”   
Then he came up and touched the bier, 
and the bearers stood still. 
And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”   
And the dead man sat up and began to speak, 
and Jesus gave him to his mother.  
~Luke 7:11-15 (ESV)


In this story,
nobody even asked Jesus to do anything.
He just saw,
was filled with compassion,
and acted.

He resonated with the woman's sorrow and hopelessness.
Not only had she lost her beloved son--
she had lost her only source of provision.
But Jesus came to restore the lost,
so He gave her back her son,
her hope,
her joy.

Jesus did not worry about the law that forbade
touching a dead body (Numbers 19:11-13).
Jesus did not make a big deal
about attracting attention,
but neither was He afraid
to step out in front of a crowd of people,
to halt a funeral procession
for the purpose of doing good.

Jesus had a tender heart for the widow
and He has a tender heart for us.
He longs to fill us with hope
and joy,
and He has the power to do it.

This is our Jesus, and we can trust in Him.

My day just got a little bit better.  Or maybe a lot.