A Heart for the Outcast

Recently the Lord prompted me to create a particular art piece for our community as we have been going through the Gospel of Luke. I usually enjoy creating the art digitally, but this time sensed God say to create it by hand. 

The picture is of a broken bird being held in the hands of Jesus. As I was creating the piece, the Lord began to provide a word, highlighting and focusing in on Jesus’ heart, ministry and service towards the outcasts of society; particularly the broken, poor, weak and sick. 

I was thinking about how we are seeking as a community to truly KNOW Jesus. I believe that Jesus’ ministry and love towards the least of these is a major part of who He was, and to miss or neglect this heart ministry Jesus had would be like pretending to not see the obvious.

You know that saying “you can tell a lot about a person by the people they hang around”, well I’ve just found myself meditating so much over the fact that Jesus actively involved himself with the sick, poor and outcasts. This speaks volumes about Jesus’ character and as we go on this journey of coming to truly know Jesus I believe this is a massive piece of Jesus’ heart that He wants us to grab hold of and live out as His children especially – in the city. 

The healing of the man stretching out his hand (Luke 6:6-11) is so beautiful. It’s a controversial one, because Jesus goes against the way of the society (no healing on the Sabbath). But it raises an interesting thought: do we also like the Pharisees forget to consider the broken ones and their situations and instead fall into the cultural way of perceiving broken people, placing “excuses” and rules over why we can’t serve / minister to the least of these? Jesus loved the “small ones” the ones humans so easily can over look and forget about. He sees them and loves them and I believe we are called to do the same as well. 

Luke 14:13 “But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind.”
Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and receiving of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lords favour.”

Written by Yolande Holowaty