Cultivating your Seeing

Have you ever seen something that impacted your life from that moment on? Most of us have, in some way or another. Maybe it was the person who'd become your spouse. Maybe it was a job that peaked your interest enough to get a degree in that field. Maybe it was an issue that needed someone to raise awareness about. Whatever it is, there are countless ways that we can see and be impacted by things.

When I read the story of the Good Samaritan, I'm struck by the repeated phrase: "when he saw him." Three men, all participants in the same situation, all saw and assessed the situation, but the outcomes are vastly different. What makes the last man different? Why did what he saw impact his life? Such a thought to be pondered upon...

In modern day America (could be any country or time period- just writing about what I am surrounded by presently) there's a lot of seeing and action that happens around me. Shopping malls are filled with people spending money. TV commercials flash such tantalizing objects round the clock. Online shops are a whole 'nother level! But each requires one to see and respond. Many choose: "Yes, I need more comfort, more things, more, more more to be happy!" Oh how hard it can be to walk away (or live with not walking away)- I speak from much experience here.

Should we even delve into the realm of online dating, social media, over eating, Netflix, or any other painful areas? Perhaps not, but the point is that we are all surrounded by people who can see and have their hearts impacted enough to act and make a life choice. Indeed, we are one!

So, when someone sees racial inequality, poverty, war killing innocent people, or a whole slew of other things that are on our very doorstep, why is there no action, not even an acknowledgement or any type of response? What is it that makes the action part of our hearts numb or even broken in this area? I think the answer is found back in our story: "and when he saw him, he had compassion."

Such an interesting word, this compassion is. We don't hear it too much in day-to-day conversation anymore. A concern for the suffering of others- how could we not want a culture centered around that? How can we not be alarmed that it is severely lacking?

Have you ever been in some sort of suffering and someone looked the other way, walked away, or even added to your despair? Words can't even depict the emotions felt in that moment, huh? Feeling that pain in this moment, can you transport yourself to the roadside of Jericho? How would it feel to be crumpled up, battered and bruised, emptied, and left for dead? Now, how would it feel to see someone pass by because they were too busy, too important, too poor, too ____ to help? You'd let me die for any one of those reasons? Are you kidding me?!

That exercise you just did, that's compassion! That's placing yourself in someone else's shoes and responding with action. Maybe you don't know how, you don't fully understand, maybe you'll make a fool of yourself, maybe, maybe, maybe... But how would you feel if your country was torn to pieces overnight and you had nowhere to go- would you really care who helped, who loved, who entered in and saved you from dying? Sure they may come across as insensitive or crazy at times, but who cares- they just saved you from dying, from being thirsty or naked, or being all alone. How would you feel if someone defended you when you were prejudge based off the color of your skin and your neighborhood?

I could list countless ways we can daily show compassion in numerous ways around our schools, neighborhoods, cities, country, and world! But we first have to cultivate our hearts to see well enough for it to produce compassion. Don't look away or walk on by- He's calling us to be brave enough to enter in. Will you today?

Go and Do Likewise

I know it comes as no shock to anyone out there that the war in Syria has been on my mind a lot these past days. Prayers, thoughts of how I can help, prayers, wishing I could be there (but also knowing as a foreign woman I can't right now), prayers, shame over how the West is handling this, wondering where God is in all of this and what He will do, and oh yeah, praying.

Tonight, after watching a documentary on the war, I started thinking about responses I've received from people through the years whenever I've mentioned uncomfortable things, like this film was. I've spent a lot of time researching trafficking, street kids, war, orphans, poverty culture, etc. And it typically happens whenever I open my heart to share deeply about these things... there's one person who says something to the affect: "I don't know how you do that! I could never go/see/do those things..." This is usually followed by a shutting down and conversation change, but what I really want to do is stand on a chair and yell: "How in the world can you turn away and close your eyes? How can you call yourself a follower of Jesus and walk away from the lost, hurting, and powerless? How in the world can you not go, see, or do?!"

I get it... we live in the West where comfort is idolized above nearly everything else. Death is rarely a part of our lives, until we are really old. Sicknesses are treatable. We mostly all have driver's licenses and access to a car. We are educated so we can sit on our bottoms and hire out all manual labor. We can isolate ourselves from pain, discomfort, and ugly things... most of the time. But we sure are not going to go pursuing those things, if we don't have to!

Tonight after thinking about how sharing things often feels like yelling into the wind, I thought about Jesus. How He felt as He walked on this earth and 'shouted' a lot of things that seemed to fade into the wind. But then I remembered the story of the Good Samaritan, you know, the one where the 'good people' do nothing, and the 'enemy' rescues the man lying nearly dead on the side of the road?

I think the story would go something like this nowadays: "A man was going down from London to Paris, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A pastor happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a priest, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But an imam, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on peroxide and alcohol. Then he put the man in his own car, brought him to a hotel and took care of him. The next day he took out two hundred Euros and gave them to the manager, ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

What's Your "But"?

Stories are an interesting thing. They draw us in, stir our empathy, challenge our priorities, and draw us out of the bubble we often find ourselves residing within. Stopping and listening to someone else's story can prove to be life-altering for anyone. However, many fail to do this and find themselves repeating the history and patterns of those who've lived a life of tragic mistakes. Hearing another's life story has a powerful way of reading our own heart, which can be painful and raw at times. We like to live in ignorant bliss and the perceived safety of our little comforts. Stories have a way of crashing through that, which is precisely why the Bible is full of them (and also why reading it is avoided by many).

There's an interesting rhythm found in the history of Israel: God raises a person into power, they chose to follow Him or not, and then consequences are reaped for the choices they made. But the irony is that, even when the judges or kings decided to walk in God's ways, there is often a "but" following after all the victorious conquests and mighty, often miraculous, happenings. It's normally listed at the end of their recorded story, almost like a side-note: "But _____ didn't remove the high places," "but during ______'s reign, Israel continued to sacrifice to the golden calves," "but _____ was lead astray by his foreign wives." In my younger years I remember thinking that these people must be complete idiots! How in the world could you see the Lord do something as mighty and powerful as they had and still not wholeheartedly follow and trust Him?! I just needed to live a little bit more, find a new definition for idolatry, and have my blinded eyes opened. Now I indeed know I have had many "buts" in my story, which is also full of miracles and mighty happenings.

This morning as I was reading through yet another account of a sidetracked king, I began to wonder what my/your/our culture's stories would be. If you will: what would our "buts" be at the end of our lives? Maybe they'd go a bit like this:
"but he never was more than 1 foot away from his cell phone."
"but she numbed her mind every night with Netflix, movies, and Tv shows."
"but food became his safe haven instead of the Lord."
"but being comfortable and feeling safe was more important than all else."
"but owning the newest of everything sidelined him from contributing to God's kingdom."
"but finding the perfect man rendered her powerless to do anything else."
"but making sure his body was chiseled took up all his time."
"but always appearing put together made her forget the eternal things."
"but sleep and laziness made him blind to the adventures God invited him into."
"but making sure statuses and posted pictures were polished consumed her time."
"but fear paralyzed him..."

I could go on and on, sadly. Many of these have been past struggles or are even things I'm wrestling through right now. How easy it is for me to follow God in some areas! I'm really great at certain things, and truth be told, I like to focus on those and have others see those. But there's always a "but" that most of the time I want to turn a blind eye to. However, I don't want to get to the end of my life and look back and see those unimportant things as what consumed my heart. I want to see all these things for what they are: idols that rob my heart of joy and fullness, an empty cistern that doesn't satisfy!

Throughout the Old Testament God uses one man as the standard of whether they wholeheartedly followed Him: King David (and truth be told, we can all see he had his fair share of "buts" in his story). One man out of all the kings! It's hard, and honestly can't be done without God's help. But let us bombard the throne of God today to beg for that grace and mercy to help us walk in the ways of David, of Jesus. Maybe then our "buts" will shrink as our legacy of love and joy increases!