Splagna

Splagna

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

Matthew 9:36

WHAT DRIVES YOU?

What is the overriding passion of your life?

When you’re falling asleep, what do you often find yourself thinking about?

And when you wake up, what topic is still there, like a song stuck in your mind?

If you had lots of extra time or money, what would you invest it in?

I’m asking: What drives you?

What Drove Jesus

What drove Jesus?

That’s an easy question to answer, because Jesus didn’t leave it up for debate. He said he came to seek and to save God’s lost children.^a It wasn’t just his official “mission statement.” It was his passion. It was in his guts.

Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”^b

Jesus saw people whom no one seemed to care about. No one was giving them attention or trying to help them; they were “confused and helpless.” They were “like sheep without a shepherd.” They were people without their heavenly Father. They didn’t have God in their lives.

We’re told that Jesus had “compassion” on them. The word compassion is translated into our language from the Greek word splagna. Splagna is translated “compassion,” but the word splagna literally refers to intestines. What Jesus felt for these people wasn’t a surface emotion; it was gut deep. Jesus saw people who didn’t have God, and it made him sick to his stomach.

He couldn’t just sit and watch. So he turned to his disciples and asked them to pray that there would be people with enough compassion to do something about it. To pray that he would have followers who experience splagna and are driven by his mission of seeking and saving God’s lost children.

Our Mission

Jesus’ mission is our mission. He said, “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”^c

We need to make sure everyone knows there is a Father who loves them and is offering life to them through a relationship with him. For someone who has a relationship with God through Jesus, the most important thing is helping other people find it.

In fact, the very last thing Jesus said before he went back to heaven was, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”^d

He said, “Make disciples.” A disciple is someone who has devoted his or her life to learning from and following someone.

He said when someone decides to become his follower, that person gets baptized. In baptism, the way many churches do it, a person gets lowered under water and then raised out of water. The symbolism is that it’s like you’re being lowered into a grave and then coming out of the grave to live a new life.^e It’s a new life that’s bigger and better because it’s got Jesus at the center. Baptism is almost like a wedding; it’s a ceremony you go through signifying that you are giving your life to a relationship with God.

Jesus tells us to live out the adventure of sharing God’s love and Good News with others, and he offers to do it with us. He promises to be “with us always” as we engage in the mission.

Excuses

Jesus commanded that every Christian seek and save the lost, but many Christians ignore that command. Research indicates that the majority of Christians will never talk to others about their faith.

Some don’t because they consider their faith to be a private thing. Which, honestly, is ridiculous. If you had a cure for cancer, would you consider that a private thing? Would you keep it to yourself? Of course you wouldn’t. We have what everyone needs—the love of God, a relationship with God, life with God, eternity with God—and we need to share that with everyone.

Christians make all kinds of excuses as to why we can’t talk to people about our faith and try to help them to know Jesus.

“I can’t do that because my life isn’t a good enough example.”

“I can’t share Jesus because I’m not very good at that.”

“I can’t talk about my faith because I wouldn’t know what to say.”

“I can’t tell people about Jesus because I wouldn’t know the answers to their questions.”

But none of those excuses are legitimate, because they’re all about us. I is the common word in all of them. And I don’t lead people to Jesus. God does. I have a part to play. I get to share Jesus with people. But I can’t lead a person to Jesus. Only God can do that. So I don’t need to worry if I can do it right or if I know the right words. I just do my best, I do my part, and God is the one who will lead people to Jesus.

We make excuses, worrying that we’ll look silly or someone might not be happy with us if we talk about our faith. But considering how important it is for everyone to know Jesus, our excuses just don’t hold up.

Did you know that in some countries today people get killed for talking about Jesus, but they don’t use that as an excuse? They still do it. We have our excuses, but in America, no one will kill us for talking about our faith.

I realize our excuses feel real, but they’re not as real as the people who need Jesus. Maybe what we need to do is pray for more splagna. Because if we had enough compassion, we would overcome our excuses and share our faith.

What Drives You?

So what drives you?

If it’s not Jesus’ mission, pray for that.

And: What are you going to do about it?

I’ve decided to give my life to Jesus’ mission. And I’ll tell you this: giving my life to Jesus’ mission is the best decision I’ve made since giving my life to Jesus.

If you’ve given your life to Jesus, give the rest of it to his mission of seeking and saving God’s lost children. In the end, it will be the only thing that really matters.

Now What?

• Read Exodus 3:1-14 and 4:1-17.
• God asks Moses to represent him and speak for him, but Moses makes excuses for why he can’t. How does God overcome Moses’ excuses? What excuses do you make for not representing God and speaking about him to others? How do you think God might overcome your excuses?
• God’s burning passion is that his lost children would come home to him. Ask God to have the same passion burn in you. Ask him to break your heart for the things that break his heart.