Devotional

“What did [Jesus] do when he saw the unclean? What was his first impulse when he came across prostitutes and lepers? He moved toward them. Pity flooded his heart, the longing of true compassion. He spent time with them. He touched them. We all can testify to the humaneness of touch. A warm hug does something warm words of greeting alone cannot. But there is something deeper in Christ’s touch of compassion. He was reversing the Jewish system. When Jesus, the Clean One, touched an unclean sinner, Christ did not become unclean. The sinner became clean.”

—Dane Ortlund in
“Gentle and Lowly”

My prayer this week: Lord, you are our perfect Heavenly Father! And yet, you move toward the sinner, the unclean. Me. And by your love and great sacrifice, you have made it possible for me to be clean. Help me approach others in the same loving, gracious way, so that lost souls might come to know you.