I Wish I Could Have Been There…

I wish I could have been there -- watching Jesus break the bread and the fish and feed thousands. I wish I could have been there -- sitting on the mountainside and hearing him teach about the blessings God has for the poor and the mournful and the meek. I wish I could have been there -- watching in wonder as tears flowed down Jesus' face just before he called a dear friend out of the cold, dark tomb.

Jesus is inspiring and challenging and even mysterious in ways that make us hungry for more. But one of the things I love about him most is his love for me -- a person with flaws and imperfections, just like you. But Jesus doesn't just love me and you and people like us; Jesus loves the people you and I have trouble loving.

Jesus loves the wounded and the broken. He loves the prisoners and the forsaken. He loves those who are dirty and poor and weak. He loves the ones the world thinks God has judged unworthy, because he knows something the world often forgets. He knows that God's love never fails and that God can make something beautiful out of broken things.

Sadly, it's not only the world that often forgets those things. Sometimes we do, too. So this morning we will look at a couple of examples of Jesus' love for the world's unwanted, and I pray that we will take the time to reflect and consider how we can increasingly have a heart for them, too. May God's Spirit make us more like him as we work to advance his mission in this place.

—Patrick Barber