Interrelated
A couple of our sons enjoying snow days with their sons.
As I've been reading through John as a way to prepare my heart for Easter I got stuck on two men I've never dwelt very long on related to the Easter story. Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, and Zacchaeus, you know... the rich, "wee little man" in the tree.
Both of these men were in the crowds as Jesus approached Jericho and both were desperate to see Jesus. Bartimaeus couldn't see because he was blind and he wanted to be healed, so he called out to Jesus. Zacchaeus couldn't see because he was short. He was curious and not aware of his great need, but Jesus was aware and called him out!
Both men ticked the other people in the crowds off, because these people looked down upon the beggar and the rich tax collector. If we were in Jesus' presence and he stepped aside to help some whom he knew had a great need, would we rejoice for the healing about to happen in that person's life, or be so self-centered that we would allow jealousy to take over?
Here's another rabbit trail my mind went down. God's Word tells us Bartimaeus immediately became a follower of Jesus. Did he follow Jesus to Zacchaeus' house for dinner? These two men so far apart on the social structure were equal in their need to be touched by Jesus and equal in their importance to Him. They were also equal in ability and importance to carry the gospel message.
We can get on our high horses and forget Jesus chose to ride a lowly donkey. He doesn't see us as rich and poor, He sees us as his beloved. Bartimaeus saw Jesus and knew he wanted to follow him. He became a disciple and just possibly went with Jesus to eat at Zacchaeus' house that day.
Look around your congregation Sunday morning. I hope you see the government authority and the addict. The homeless and the one who lives in the big house on the hill. I hope most of all you see them sitting beside one another, praising the Lord together.
We recently signed up for PureFlix and boy is it refreshing! We were watching a romance film called Prescription for Love. In the film a hospital doctor becomes good friends with a hospital janitor and gains great wisdom from him. The janitor mentions how most doctors look right over him, never noticing he exists.
Who does God have directly in your path that possibly you aren't even taking notice of? God may have a beautiful relationship to weave together and we are so busy pushing forward for our own selfish gain we are missing out on a treasure.
"It all boils down to this: that all life if interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. We are made to live together became of the interrelated structure of reality." Martin Luther King, Jr.
Be friendly with everyone. Don't be proud and feel that you know more than others. Make friends with ordinary people. Romans 12:16
The Song
"Image of God" by We Are Messengers
