sheltered

"How often I have deired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing."

(Luke 13:34b)

He knows what it's supposed to be like.  He has love & compassion for them - but for the most part, they've shunned him.  He's waiting to shelter them... comfort them... support them... and surround them with love - just like a mother hen does with her brood of chicks.  But they've refused.  And it pains him.  That's the relationship Jesus had with the people of Jerusalem.

I wonder who Jesus says those words about today?  How many of those close to us (family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, classmates, etc.) fall into this category?  People of infinite worth & value... people whom God has great plans for, if only they'd let him into their lives.  But they haven't.  Or won't.

We have relationships with them.  We can speak a word of hope, encouragement & grace.  We can be an agent of love for them, so they can respond to the eternal longing in their soul.  It's not about manipulation or coercion... it's about connecting with the Savior of the World... the One who loves us all... and wants to shelter us.  All of us.