I remember this sweet moment years ago when my daughter, Jade was four years old and sitting at the snack bar in our kitchen. She and I were talking about the Lord and discussing a certain family member whom we had been praying for.
She listened intently to our conversation, and then all of a sudden her small face looked so concerned. Jade’s eyes got real big, then in her little voice she asked, “Mom, do you think ______ is saved?” My answer to her was, “Jade only God knows their heart, but if I had to answer that question based off of their choices and lifestyle, I would say no.”
What followed that comment shook me to the core.
Immediately, tears filled her beautiful and innocent blue eyes; and she desperately declared, “Mom, we have to tell him about Jesus.” Then, she laid her head down on the snack bar and began to weep.
I was so surprised by her response and her cry of desperation for our loved one to be saved. I just stood there in awe – I was overwhelmed how God was speaking through my child and reminding me of the urgency of the great commission. The innocence of her love was compelled with compassion, and I truly believe that’s the cry of our Father’s heart.
May we never lose the innocence of love.
I know it’s unusual to have a conversation with a four-year-old about salvation and eternity… but Jade was born two years after my son, Gavin had died. Our family always talked about Gavin being in heaven, and that we would be with him one day in eternity.
It was a challenge trying to teach our son, Jeno about heaven as well. He was the big brother and only four years old when Gavin died a tragic death. In our journey of grieving and healing, we had made heaven so appealing to Jeno, that one-day he asked, “If I hold my head under water, can I go and be with Gavin in heaven?” Well grief or no grief, I said, “Of course not, heaven isn’t that great. You need to stay right here.” Hey, sometimes a mother has to say what she needs to say at the moment.
From the beginning, we began teaching Jade about Gavin, because we wanted her to know that she had a brother who lived in heaven. At the same time, we were teaching her about Jesus. We tried to explain that God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit were in heaven too. It was funny because she began to think that Gavin was part of the Holy Trinity. So we had to re-teach that a few times. It’s not always easy balancing life and death with children, but God used our pain to teach our children about His love, healing, and nature.
The beautiful nature of Jesus – that is full of compassion.
It’s difficult to trust someone if you don’t know them personally. But if you’ve personally invested and built a relationship with someone, you will begin to trust their values, actions, and belief system – and ultimately you will begin to trust their nature and develop a deep love for them.
I believe once you can trust someone’s nature, you have tapped into a new depth of who they are – all the way to the core of their soul.
I love to read in the Scriptures about the nature of Jesus and His deep compassion when he looked upon the people. His love compelled Him to respond with compassion.
Look at Matthew 9:36 (NIV)
36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
And in Matthew 15:32 (NIV)
32 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”
This is a beautiful depiction of His love for us.
Doesn’t it mean so much to you when someone sees you? Not just the circumstance around you, but you personally. They see you beyond the walls you’ve built to protect yourself. They see you behind the stoic mask you’ve learned to wear. They see you as you try to hide the pain with the smiles because it really does hurt.
It’s so vulnerable when someone sees you in the rawness of your pain.
The Passion Translation shows His nature so sweet in Luke 7:11-17 (TPT)
11 Shortly afterward, Jesus left on a journey for the village of Nain, with a massive crowd of people following him, along with his disciples. 12 As he approached the village, he met a multitude of people in a funeral procession, who were mourning as they carried the body of a young man to the cemetery. The boy was his mother’s only son and she was a widow. 13 When the Lord saw the grieving mother, his heart broke for her. With great tenderness, he said to her, “Please don’t cry.” 14 Then he stepped up to the coffin and touched it. When the pallbearers came to a halt, Jesus said to the corpse, “Young man, I say to you, arise and live!”
15 Immediately, the young man moved, sat up, and spoke to those nearby. Jesus presented the son to his mother, alive! 16 A tremendous sense of holy mystery swept over the crowd as they witnessed this miracle of resurrection.
Jesus saw so much more than just a funeral.
This Scripture always gets me, because Jesus saw so much more than just what was before Him. It wasn’t just a funeral to Him – He saw her pain, her loss, and her life. Jesus shows us again and again in the Word that His compassion and nature is to turn our situation around – and to turn our ashes into beauty.
When Jesus sees you – He sees you as the one.
In Matthew 18:12-13 (NIV)
12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.
A Prophetic Word for you:
Jesus wants you to know that He sees you.
He sees you past your walls and your mask. He sees beyond what others see because He sees the real you. Yes, the one that looks so strong but inside feels so weak. And He sees the one who’s learned to push beyond the limits because fear is driving you to perform like a slave master.
Jesus sees you and wants to speak a Word into your spirit today.
I hear the Spirit of the Lord say, “I am turning your situation around. I am making beauty from the ashes. It will be a beautiful display of my love – you will see. Don’t lose heart, because I am with you. I am walking this out with you. You are not alone.
I love that you run to me, and I want you to trust my nature. I know it’s hard to understand why the journey has been rough, but what is being refined in you is more beautiful and radiates brighter with my reflection.
All of heaven is for you. We celebrate you today. We celebrate every victory and we intercede for you when you battle with doubt. So stand strong my child, because I love my journey with you. You are truly stronger than you think you are.
Dig deep, embrace My Word, and choose to stand.
Stand in the rain. Stand in the storm. Stand on the mountain. Stand in the valley. Just stand, because I am standing next to you. I want you to trust my nature because I am with you.”
Love and always praying for you,
Julie G
Julie Giordano
www.juliegiordano.org
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