“When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” — Matthew 9:36
What if the church looked more like Jesus?
Not like a brand, a building, or a belief system, but like the living Christ who walked among the broken, the doubting, and the outcast.
When Jesus saw people hurting, He didn’t lecture them. He didn’t ask for credentials or moral records. He was moved with compassion. That’s the word the Gospels use over and over-compassion. Not fear, not suspicion, not superiority and not judging.
Somewhere along the way, the church began to lose that center. We became gatekeepers of grace instead of its messengers. We drew up statements of who’s welcome, who’s not, who’s “biblical” enough, who’s “repentant” enough—forgetting that none of us came to the table by merit. There is no unforgivable sin.
If the church truly looked like Jesus, it would not be known for who it excludes but for who it embraces. It would welcome the ones religion has turned away: the LGBTQ believer longing to belong, the divorced parent trying to rebuild, the doubter who still shows up to pray.
Jesus did not come to start a club for the clean. He came to build a home for the broken.
And that home still stands open.
When the church begins to look like Jesus again; when it chooses compassion over correctness, presence over pride, and grace over gatekeeping, it will rediscover its power. The world doesn’t need a louder church; it needs a kinder one. A church that sees people the way Jesus saw them: harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
To look like Jesus means to love without exception. To heal instead of divide. To feed the hungry, clothe the lonely, and lift the ones who’ve been told they don’t belong.
That’s not compromise; it’s the Gospel.
Prayer
Lord, help us to look like You.
Let our hearts be moved with compassion where there is judgment,
mercy where there is fear,
and welcome where there has been exclusion.
Make Your church a reflection of Your love. Amen.
Joshua Hedgecock 