Attention Deficit

Last week, I saw this postcard on 'post-secret' and it really caught my eye. As a matter of fact, I've had it as my desk-top wallpaper since then. I think it's just a great reminder that as 'life' is happening all around us, there are millions of other stories taking place... besides ours.

At Desperation Church we’ve been discussing ‘Spiritual Warfare’ and the battle that we’re all in. However, may we never forget that each and every person we run into, and currently know, is also in a battle.

Some are lonely.

Some are angry.

Some are burned out.

Some are grieving.

Some are sick.

Some are out of work.

Some are wounded.

Some are ashamed.

Some are guilty.

Some are all of these… and more.

All have captured God’s heart... and are in need of HOPE.

I was reminded of this the other day, as I read; “The question at the Last Judgment is not ‘How religious was your talk?’ nor ‘How much time did you spend in prayer?’ nor ‘Was your faith orthodox in every respect?’ but ‘How did you respond to needy brothers and sisters?’ This is the one reliable measure of discipleship.”
[Thomas R. Kelly, A Testament of Devotion (New York: Harper and Row, 1941), page 58]

Several years ago a group of five computer salesmen went from Milwaukee to Chicago for a regional sales convention. All were married and each assured his wife he would return home in ample time for dinner. The sales meeting ran late, and the five scurried out of the building and ran toward the train station. A whistle blew, signaling the imminent departure of the train. As the salesmen raced through the terminal, one of them inadvertently kicked over a slender table on which rested a basket of apples. A ten-year-old boy was selling apples to pay for his books and clothes for school. With a sigh of relief, the five clambered aboard the train, but the last felt a twinge of compassion for the boy whose apple stand had been overturned.

He asked one of the group to call his wife and tell her he would be a couple of hours late. He returned to the terminal and later remarked that he was glad he did. The ten-year-old boy was blind. The salesman saw the apples scattered all over the floor. As he gathered them up, he noticed that several were bruised or split. Reaching into his pocket, he said to the boy, “Here’s twenty dollars for the apples we damaged. I hope we didn’t spoil your day. God bless you.”

As the salesman started to walk away, the blind boy called after him and asked, “Are you Jesus?”

May we respond to others, all others, in love. And may we be JESUS to them, slowing down and truly understanding that they may be blind, or simply fighting a battle that we know not of.