WBC: Impact Site

 A heart to reach the students on your campus comes from seeing their need visually, feeling their pain compassionately, uplifting their souls prayerfully, and touching their lives personally. This is clearly seen in Matthew 9:36,

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

First, Jesus saw their need visually.

He watched them from a distance. He looked at them as they hustled about without hope, hurried and frazzled by the stuff of life. His heart broke for them. One of the best exercises that you can do to develop a heart for the students at your school is just watch them. On a break between classes watch students as they walk up and down the hallways talking about sports or hobbies, boyfriends or girlfriends, or whatever. Ask yourself what their lives must be like without the hope of Jesus Christ. Imagine them dying and awakening in the flames of an eternal hell. Sound gruesome? It is. But the plain truth is that it is exactly what would happen if they were to die without Christ. It breaks your heart doesn’t it?

Next, Jesus felt their pain compassionately.

The word “compassion” actually means “to suffer with.” The Lord didn’t just hurt for people…he hurt with them. He absorbed their pain into his own soul. He took their pain personally. This is where I believe God has enabled us to use our imaginations to put ourselves in their shoes. What if we were the ones who didn’t know Christ? What if we had no one to turn to when we were hurting? What if we didn’t have the security of a relationship with a Father that would never leave us or forsake us?

Jesus then upheld their need prayerfully.

He asked his disciples to ask their Father to send laborers into the harvest field. Prayer is the ground where broken hearts are cultivated. As you pray for someone, God puts a burden in your heart for that person.

Finally, Jesus touched their lives personally.

He talked to them. He listened to them. He healed them and fed them. Just like Jesus, as we get involved in the lives of others, our hearts will break for them!