I’ve been thinking about Byron’s message a lot today. He spoke about seeing people as Jesus saw them…harassed and helpless (Matthew 9:36). I had been thinking about this a lot this week, even before I knew what he was going to speak about.
The other night I was at Target with my mom. It was late, close to closing time and we were just about to check out. We put all of our stuff on the belt and I noticed the lady in front of me was crying and very upset. She turned to me and we made eye contact. I wasn’t sure why she was so upset, but I was assuming it had something to do with her not being able to pay for her items. I asked her if I could please help her and she said, “No, but thank you.”
As she walked away, all I could think was, I have to get to her. I didn’t know how I could help, but I felt like I needed to do something. The cashier told me that it was the lady’s daughter’s birthday and she had spent more than she could afford and that was why she was so upset. I gathered my items and ran out to the parking lot only to find her pulling out, going the opposite direction from where I was standing. I was too late.
I’ve thought about that lady all week. I don’t know her story, but I know she was hurting. It made me realize…everybody has a story. We don’t always know what’s going on in peoples’ lives, but God does and He cares. Just as Jesus looked at the crowds and had compassion on them, I want to have that same compassion. It doesn’t come naturally for me to just go up to someone and start a conversation, but I want to be intentional about looking for needs around me so that I don’t have any more missed opportunities to show the love of Christ. There are so many needs around me and I know that I can only do so much, but this is my prayer…that I would see people as Jesus saw them, harrassed and helpless, and that I would make the most of every opportunity.
I love the chorus of a song we sang this morning:
There are things yet to come,
And there are things that are still to be done
In this city.
It was a reminder to me that there are needs ALL around me, every day, everywhere…even at Target on a Thursday night at closing time.
