This morning I am sitting listening to a song called, "Somebody Like Me" by Jason Crabb. This song is about a homeless man that walks into a church and no one sits next to him, no one ministers to him and when he leaves no one goes after him. Yesterday a friend of mine and I were listening to this song as we drove to lunch. He said something that was true but it didn't sit right with me regardless. He said that he had never seen this happen at his church and that people would have reached out to this guy if they were at his church. I agree and that would probably happen at my church as well. The problem is we get all emotional at church and then what happens when we walk out the door? If we are Christians, what does Christ look like to the rest of the world? Will Christ stop to help someone? Will Christ give to someone in need or will Christ make some excuse about why he can't help. Understand this - The only Christ that some people will ever see is you and me.
Let me tell you about a couple of places where I faced this situation. One was in the church lobby a few weeks ago. There is a lady at my church who I have sort of known all my life. I have been to basically three churches in my life and her family has been at the same three. The funny thing is we don't know them all that well. This particular lady has such a sweet spirit. She loves God and you can just tell. On this particular morning, she was a Christian and I wasn't. The interesting thing is that this particular lady has some type of mental disability and while older than me, she acts much younger.
As she walked toward me that Sunday, I didn't want to talk to her. I buried my head in my phone pretending to be doing something but really I was just hoping that she would pass me by so I wouldn't have to talk to her. All she wanted was to talk to someone and have them talk back to her with some amount of interest in what she was saying. I however was too caught up in myself to be Christ. As someone walked up and diverted her attention, I quickly got up and walked off. Oh how easy it is to write this blog and have people from all over the world read it but when it came to actually being a member of the body of Christ I failed that morning. When the reality of that set in, I was ashamed of myself because I know I am better than that. Have you ever experienced a situation like that? If so, you know how it feels to have an opportunity to do something for someone else and miss it. My Father still loves me but He certainly couldn't have been happy with me that morning. I know I wasn't.
But the Lord had a special way of telling me and showing me how much He loves me. I don't speak with this person very often but the next morning as I was rounding the corner, here she came again. This time was different. I was excited. I got an opportunity to talk to her and really more let her talk to me and I took it with gusto. It didn't last very long but I know she enjoyed talking to me and I really enjoyed talking to her. This particular Sunday, that somebody was me. It felt great.
Now let's get outside the church walls. What does Christ look like at Starbucks on Wednesday morning? Please do not take the rest of this story as bragging because it isn't. I constantly deal with the feeling that I don't do enough for other people. It seems like no matter how many people I help, I never feel like I do much and certainly not enough. Anyway, as I was sitting in Starbucks working this morning, and a man walked up to me who looked dirty. He handed me a laminated piece of paper that said he was mute and looking for money for food for his family. He showed me tatoos on his arms with the names of his parents and the dates of their deaths. I really didn't want to deal with him because I was enjoying what I was doing. Before he got to me, he stopped at another table to ask for help and they turned him down. But here's the difference. This time I purposed in my heart to be someone God could use. I decided that God could count on me to show this man Christ. I wasn't going to be relegated to the side lines this time. I was going to get in the game. He was going to see Christ give. I am thankful that Christ gave me the ability to bless him.
Please don't take this wrong. I, above all people, know that I'm nothing special. But I do know that I serve One who is beyond special. As we get closer to Thanksgiving, I want to challenge you to look around you. If you are a Christian, what does Christ look like to the people who are around you? Are you helping? When was the last time you helped someone who could do nothing for you in return? When was the last time someone saw Christ in you? In my own life, people don't see Christ enough.
That's the Opinion of the Minion
Let me tell you about a couple of places where I faced this situation. One was in the church lobby a few weeks ago. There is a lady at my church who I have sort of known all my life. I have been to basically three churches in my life and her family has been at the same three. The funny thing is we don't know them all that well. This particular lady has such a sweet spirit. She loves God and you can just tell. On this particular morning, she was a Christian and I wasn't. The interesting thing is that this particular lady has some type of mental disability and while older than me, she acts much younger.
As she walked toward me that Sunday, I didn't want to talk to her. I buried my head in my phone pretending to be doing something but really I was just hoping that she would pass me by so I wouldn't have to talk to her. All she wanted was to talk to someone and have them talk back to her with some amount of interest in what she was saying. I however was too caught up in myself to be Christ. As someone walked up and diverted her attention, I quickly got up and walked off. Oh how easy it is to write this blog and have people from all over the world read it but when it came to actually being a member of the body of Christ I failed that morning. When the reality of that set in, I was ashamed of myself because I know I am better than that. Have you ever experienced a situation like that? If so, you know how it feels to have an opportunity to do something for someone else and miss it. My Father still loves me but He certainly couldn't have been happy with me that morning. I know I wasn't.
But the Lord had a special way of telling me and showing me how much He loves me. I don't speak with this person very often but the next morning as I was rounding the corner, here she came again. This time was different. I was excited. I got an opportunity to talk to her and really more let her talk to me and I took it with gusto. It didn't last very long but I know she enjoyed talking to me and I really enjoyed talking to her. This particular Sunday, that somebody was me. It felt great.
Now let's get outside the church walls. What does Christ look like at Starbucks on Wednesday morning? Please do not take the rest of this story as bragging because it isn't. I constantly deal with the feeling that I don't do enough for other people. It seems like no matter how many people I help, I never feel like I do much and certainly not enough. Anyway, as I was sitting in Starbucks working this morning, and a man walked up to me who looked dirty. He handed me a laminated piece of paper that said he was mute and looking for money for food for his family. He showed me tatoos on his arms with the names of his parents and the dates of their deaths. I really didn't want to deal with him because I was enjoying what I was doing. Before he got to me, he stopped at another table to ask for help and they turned him down. But here's the difference. This time I purposed in my heart to be someone God could use. I decided that God could count on me to show this man Christ. I wasn't going to be relegated to the side lines this time. I was going to get in the game. He was going to see Christ give. I am thankful that Christ gave me the ability to bless him.
Please don't take this wrong. I, above all people, know that I'm nothing special. But I do know that I serve One who is beyond special. As we get closer to Thanksgiving, I want to challenge you to look around you. If you are a Christian, what does Christ look like to the people who are around you? Are you helping? When was the last time you helped someone who could do nothing for you in return? When was the last time someone saw Christ in you? In my own life, people don't see Christ enough.
That's the Opinion of the Minion
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