Thought for today - 01/26/2014

HELP ME TO SEE MORE CLEARLY 
"One of the barriers to becoming someone who makes a difference is simply this: we don't want to. In many ways, we would like to stay blind and small, like baby mice. We don't realize how fulfilling, how thrilling, being a difference maker can be. Jesus invites us to be people who see, and then act. When we do so, our very desires our changed. 

"The Christian faith, a faith that makes a difference, calls us to see with new vision. Jesus says when we pry the plank of hypocrisy and judgment out of our eye, we will "see clearly" to help others (see Matthew 7:1-5). What does it mean to "see" someone? To not just be vaguely aware of them, as some sort of distraction, but to see them? 

"Jesus recently has been challenging me to see even more clearly. In 1 John 3:17, the Bible says, "If any one of you has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in you?" This is not a statement of condemnation, it's just a question. In fact, a few verses later John says we need not let our hearts condemn us. It is a question with a challenge. Do we see the under-resourced of the world? In our neighborhood? Or do we work very hard to stay blind to their plight? I think one of the scariest prayers you can pray is, "Help me to see more clearly." God only knows what he might show you."
- Keri Wyatt Kent, Simple Compassion