Actor Bruce Marchiano wanted to see the world through the eyes of the character he was playing. So as he prepared for the role of Jesus in a presentation of Matthew's Gospel, he prayed, "Lord, show me what it all looks like through Your eyes."

That prayer was answered one day while Marchiano was filming the Lord's heartbroken denunciation of the unrepentant cities of Chorazin and Bethsaida (Mt. 11:20-22). The actor began to weep uncontrollably as he looked at the people around him. He said that he "saw people living their lives in ways that God didn't plan." He likened his reaction to what parents might feel if they saw their toddler walking into the street as a truck was coming. Marchiano realized that compassion is not just feeling sorry for people; it's a heartache so intense that it moves us to action.

As Jesus walked among people, He saw them as shepherdless sheep--spiritually ignorant, without hope, eternally lost. Moved with compassion, He taught them and used His supernatural power to meet their needs (Mt. 9:35).

Do we see people through the eyes of Jesus? Are we moved with compassion, not with just a passing twinge of pity but a profound reaction that motivates action?  — Vernon C. Grounds