Matthew 9:35-38
And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

It was mankind who sinned in the beginning and brought the curse upon the earth. It is man who rebels against God and defies Him in every generation. It is man whose evil reigns in this world, as it has from that first sin. It was because of man’s sin that Jesus had to come in the first place, that heaven would send its precious Son to die a horrific and brutal death. It is because of sinful man that Jesus gave His life, endured the agony, and experienced that separation from the Father.

God is not to blame that man has made his choices, all the way from Adam and Eve, Cain, the nation of Israel, down to our generation today, living in sin, opposing God. When we look at it this way, it seems God has every right to be angry, to bring judgment and punishment. It would make sense if God just gave up on people and let them face exactly what they deserve. If we were in God’s place, we might hate people and be glad to see them suffer for what they have done.

But that is not how God views people, this wretched mass of souls dying in their sins. He has such love, not hate, for all people. He has compassion on the lost and wandering. He wants something good to come for them, not something evil. He is moved with compassion. He is driven by His love. These lost souls, these sinful people, these rebels and unbelievers are so precious and valuable to Him. They mean everything to Him, so much so that He willingly gave His life. He wants to forgive and redeem. He’s made a way and prepared a place so that hell doesn’t have to be our eternal home.

And so if we matter that much to God, can’t the people around us matter to us a little bit more? Can’t we respond to the sins of the sinful with a little more love than hate, with more grace and patience and compassion than condemnation and criticism? Can’t we see the value that God places on each individual and treat them as worthy of hearing the Gospel, hearing about Jesus and how He can save them, how He wants to save them from the eternal death they are headed for and give them eternal life instead?