We all hate feeling alone. We may like to spend time by ourselves sometimes, but there’s a huge difference between being by yourself and feeling alone. Being by yourself is a physical thing. Being alone is a mental, emotional and psychological thing. Being by yourself is solved by others. Being alone takes more than just someone coming up and sitting next to you to fix.
The sick man we looked at in Sunday’s sermon (see John 5:1-15) was a living example of what it looks like to be alone. He had been sick for so long. He had been paralyzed for so long. He had no one around to help him. For so long, he was used to people trying to avoid him, get away from him, and probably not even make eye contact with him. He must have felt alone. He must have felt unnoticed.
Until Jesus came by.
Jesus didn’t just pass by him. Jesus didn’t avoid him. Jesus didn’t look on him and shake his head as he continued on his way. Jesus saws him. Jesus noticed him. Jesus approached him. And Jesus had compassion for him.
I think that, far too often, we get stuck in this idea that Jesus doesn’t see us. That Jesus doesn’t see what’s going on in our lives. That he doesn’t see the hurt caused by sickness, death, addiction, divorce, relationships or abuse. We think that he doesn’t see it or, at the very least, that he doesn’t care.
But I think this story gives us hope.
This man was a man that no one paid attention to. But Jesus did. This man must have thought that no one cared about him. But Jesus did. There’s no way this man could have seen a way out of his pain. But Jesus did.
Today, no matter what you’re going through — no matter the hurt, no matter the pain, no matter the sorrow — Jesus notices you. Today, find comfort in knowing that you’re not alone. Find comfort knowing that Jesus sees you.