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| Artwork Credit: Charity Visit (1840) by Henri Dillens (1812–1872). Via Artvee.com. |
I came across a video of a man standing on a street somewhere in Europe. He blindfolded himself and held a sign that read, “If you struggle with mental health, hug me.” People came and wept, and a few shared what they were going through. Watching it reminded me of God’s goodness to mankind. Even among those who do not believe in Christ, His grace still reaches them. He “makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matt 5:45).
Moments like these bring to mind the doctrine of common grace. Although saving grace is found only in Christ, God still allows acts of kindness and love to exist in the world. He is “kind to the unthankful and evil” (Lk 6:35). And these glimpses of compassion are not separate from the Gospel; they remind us of the One who is full of mercy.
But we sometimes forget. In our desire to guard the truth or in our grief over how the world treats Christ, we speak to/about unbelievers irritably. I have seen this in myself. I grow tired. I even feel disgusted at how sin is celebrated openly. But I learnt that the danger is when our sorrow turns into pride. Instead of weeping, we hate and criticize and stay there. We forget that the same Gospel that reached us must be preached to them.
When Christ looked upon Jerusalem, He did not rage at their rejection. He wept instead (Lk 19:41). He knew what would happen. He knew the hardness of their hearts. Still, He showed love. If we are to be the salt of the earth (Matt 5:13), we should mirror what Christ did. Our lives must preserve what is true without losing compassion. I am not saying that we lower the message, but we lower ourselves to serve and to reach.
When we see acts of compassion from those who do not yet believe, we are not celebrating their righteousness. The Bible is clear that righteousness only comes when one is in Christ. But when they show acts of kindness or compassion, we are reminded that they are still image-bearers, souls whom God can save. Their good works cannot save them (Isa 64:6), but they are still people Christ might have died for. Paul wrote, “God our Savior… desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:3–4).
This is where our urgency must come from, from the remembrance that we ourselves were once lost, and someone brought the Gospel to us. “And such were some of you. But you were washed…” (1 Cor 6:11). God was patient with us. Someone also prayed and taught us. We owe it to others to do the same.
Perhaps these moments are meant to soften us and to make us care more for the lost. The more we understand how patient God has been with us, the less we will look on others with contempt. And the more we see His grace at work in every place, the more we will feel the urgency to share the Gospel that alone can change hearts.
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