Reach Out Like Jesus

If you went on a YouthWorks trip this summer, you heard all about how Jesus demonstrated how to live, love and serve. At home, we hope you’ll keep thinking about ways you can live like Jesus every day! That’s why, each Thursday for 5 weeks, we’ll post a new reflection helping you apply the same ideas you heard on your mission trip to your everyday life back home.

 

 

 

It was before 7 a.m. and I was awake – already a unique morning. More unique was that this guy, Mark Yaconelli, a decently well know author and speaker, was sitting next to me sharing some highlights from his week and listening intently as I answered his questions about mine. It was much more than what I expected from such an early run to the airport. I had been doing this loop all week for the National Youth Workers Convention: picking up speakers from the airport and driving them to the convention and now, as the event was winding down, taking them back to the airport. I was basically a taxi driver for a few days. But Mark didn’t treat me like a taxi driver.

 

Instead, this man who had, the night before, spoken in front of a crowd of nearly 3,000 youth workers, seemed wrapped up in a conversation with me, a person he barely even knew! When we arrived at the airport, I hopped out to grab his bags from the back. As I laid his luggage in front of him he looked me in the eye and told me how happy he was to have met me. Then he gave me this big unexpected hug and a final word of encouragement before he headed into ticketing.

 

In just a short drive to the airport, Mark was able to reach out to me in a way that made me feel valued and encouraged. I loved that even though he was this well-known speaker and author, he still took the time to connect with some guy who was shuttling him to the airport. I think Mark was able to reach out to me because he was following the demonstration Jesus gave his followers again and again in Scripture. Matthew 20 contains a very tangible story of how Jesus reached out to some folks in need.

 

As you read this passage, pay attention to the words that show Jesus’ actions – the verbs. Those are the words we’ll come back to.

 

Read Mathew 20:29–34.

 

When I read this passage, I am drawn to Jesus as he reaches out to these blind men. But I don’t think Jesus’ love just happened. Instead, I see a ton of intentionality in the way Jesus reached out. Check out these five actions Jesus took:

 

1. First, Jesus was leaving one place and heading to another. He was out and about making himself available. He wanted to be where the people were.

 

2. When Jesus saw the blind men, he stopped and called. Jesus’ schedule didn’t distract him from stopping to recognize these guys that everyone else had kinda kicked to the curb. While the crowd was busy rebuking, Jesus showed everybody that these seemingly undesirable men were worth his time and attention.

 

3. Then Jesus asked them a question. One-way interactions were not what he was interested in. Instead, Jesus reached out in a way that required conversation. Jesus knew that taking time to listen is a huge part of any relationship.

 

4. But beyond outward actions, Jesus loved (aka: had compassion on) these men. More than simply going through the motions, Jesus’ heart was involved.

 

5. Finally, in an act of love, Jesus reached out and touched these men to heal their eyes. Not only did Jesus care, but he also did something to change these men’s lives.

 

As I look at Jesus’ actions, I think they provide a great framework for how we, too, can reach out to others in meaningful ways. Consider how you can do each of these five actions to reach out:

 

Leave.  As much as I appreciate that you are reading this right now, I gotta ask, “What will you do next?” Reaching out to others doesn’t just happen, so consider what’s holding you back. Just see what opportunities to love others arise when you make yourself available like Jesus did.

 

Stop.  We live in a world that moves at a hundred messages per minute. When is the last time you muted your phone / ignored your schedule / turned off the TV to really focus on someone else? It’s easy to focus on the million and one things you have to do, but now more than ever, we need to intentionally stop to recognize the opportunities we have to reach out to others.

 

Ask.  Sometimes my idea of service looks like a whole lot of me making grand gestures. But when I think about people who have really served and helped me, I remember the people who just took the time to really listen. Can you remember the last time you asked someone what he needed or asked, “How are you?” and then took time to truly listen? In your next conversation, try to do less talking and more asking.

 

Love.  Reaching out to others isn’t just about doing the right thing. It’s about why you do what you do. In 1 Corinthians 13, it says that if you move mountains or speak with angels or even give up your life, but do those things without love, it doesn’t mean anything! When we reach out to others, we have to put our heart into it. Our love both fuels and authenticates our service to others.

 

Touch.  Love for others should do something. Jesus literally reached out and touched the eyes of these blind men to give them sight, but it doesn’t take a miracle to touch someone’s life. What it does take is you – your gifts, your abilities, your effort. And the incredible thing is that Jesus continues to heal people through his followers. You are one way Jesus shows compassion, reaches out and touches lives.

 

About a year after I gave Mark Yaconelli a ride to the airport, I picked up one of his books, Contemplative Youth Ministry. (I recommend you read it too!) As I read, I recognized how, during his ride to the airport, Mark had put into practice some of the things he had written, and those things connected with the way Jesus treated others. Perhaps, like me, you will be challenged by Mark’s words:

 

“We forget that the majority of Jesus’ teaching came after listening to the request or question of another person… It’s almost a conversion experience in this day and age to be authentically heard by another person.” (p. 108)

 

“When we see with the eyes of Jesus and hear with the ears of Jesus, we soon find ourselves feeling with the heart of Jesus.” (p.111)

 

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus calls God’s followers “the salt of the earth.” Just like salt makes food better through seasoning it with flavor, Jesus can work through you to “season” others’ lives when you Stop, Ask, Love and Touch others’ lives like Jesus did.

 

Of course, the first step is to “leave” – to get up and out and make yourself available. As you consider how you will make yourself available to be SALT to the people who cross your path, remember Jesus’ words to his disciples after he had served them:

 

 “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” (John 13:15)

 

Your opportunity to live like Jesus happens today as you reach out to those around you just as Jesus did.

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Sam Townsend helps write training, programming and marketing materials for YouthWorks mission trips. When he isn’t hanging around teenagers at church or digging into seminary homework, he is generally looking for a good conversation and a hole-in-the-wall restaurant to have it in. Sam still considers his first couple summers working for YouthWorks in Virginia and Pennsylvania communities some of the most transformative times of his life.