Caring for the Broken Hearted By Paul Chappell Wednesday, Oct 29, 2014 “And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:17–19 When Cory Weissman, a student at Gettysburg College, took the floor for the final men’s basketball game of the 2012 season, the crowd burst into applause. Cory, a star high school athlete, had suffered a massive stroke four years earlier, and it had taken years of grueling physical therapy for him to able to walk at all. He had no business on the court, but his coach wanted to reward his diligent effort in trying to recover from the stroke. Cory limped his way up and down the court for a minute or two and then went to the bench. But with just a minute left and his team far ahead, the coach put Cory back into the lineup. The coach of the opposing Washington College team instructed one of his players to foul Cory so that he would have a chance to score. After missing the first free throw, Cory Weissman shot again, scoring the only point of his college career. The Gettysburg assistant athletic director wrote Washington’s coach and said he, “Displayed a measure of compassion that I have never witnessed in over thirty years of involvement in intercollegiate athletics.” Christians should be the most compassionate of all people, extending grace and hope to those who are hurting. This was the defining characteristic Jesus expressed at the beginning of His ministry, and it should describe us as well. Today’s Renewal Principle: The world is filled with hurting people, and if we reach to them in compassion, we can make a true difference in their lives.
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 10:14:45 +0000
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