The Shepherd's Heart

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36) This is Jesus’ response to the crowds who followed him around the sea. His heart was for the people, both when they were clamoring to see him and when they were crucifying him.

Last Wednesday, the students from Worldview at the Abbey went evangelizing with the students from Worldview Academy Fall Camp. In Colorado Springs, the students engaged crowds of college students and faculty with the question, “What’s wrong with the world?” If the opportunity arose, the students asked if the problems with the world are internal or external problems. This question directs the conversation towards the problem of sin which perverts our very nature as human beings.
 

One of main reasons we have students engage in street evangelism at the Abbey is so that they can personally interact with the crowds. As they stare the college students in the eye, the lost cease to be an abstraction and become a series of names and faces in the students’ minds and hearts. When you are learning a lot about the errors in other’s ways, it is easy to become arrogant. This arrogance is broken down by spending time with people who are hurting.

One of the Abbey students asked a young college student, “What is your purpose in life?” The college student responded by breaking down into tears, exclaiming that she didn’t know what her purpose was. The Abbey student embraced her and explained the gospel to her. Another group of Abbey students ran across a college student who proclaimed his position with language so confusing that the Abbey students could barely understand what he was saying. This college student was likely hiding his insecurities behind his large vocabulary.

The crowds are like sheep without a shepherd. The Abbey students learned this first hand, and were filled with compassion. At the end of the day, Jesus Christ is their shepherd, and he will call them to himself. The sheep will be lost no more.

By Nathan Pegors