“Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life,” ELW 719 and LBW 429
Devotion
All around us are hurting people. If we only knew! There are people who have raped or been raped; people who have molested or been molested; depressed people, deceived people, diseased people, depraved people, downtrodden people. Who has the heart to bear with all such people? We want to run. But Jesus, with compassion, steps into the gap. He stays with the brokenhearted.
The church today has a great opportunity to get out there and be with people with stories to tell. The world is full of wounded people. Are we prepared to listen to just one and get what is being said? Can we as people with our own issues then actually share our faith and our struggles gently and humbly as they relate to this person’s special situation? Christ can heal. Sometimes it is a long process. We can be instruments of his peace. After all, it is about him, not about us.
Prayer
Slow us down, Lord, so that we can notice and listen for the inner cries around us. Give us hearts of flesh, not of stone. We pray we may be people who love much, who are trusted with private agonies and who prove trustworthy. We cast our burdens on you. Amen.