Why Unedited? + “Eyes to See”
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Eyes to See.
This morning, I was listening to Joni Erickson Tada talking about being in Accra, Ghana, West Africa. She shared about going to the slums late at night, where children, men, and women with broken disabled bodies from cerebral palsy, polio, and leprosy would pour out of the “cracks and crevices” of alleys and doorways to scrape the leftover food from the streets in the marketplace. The image her words painted was horrific to my westernized mind. I have seen some gruesome scenes and walked in some disgusting places, but never to that extent.
As I drove and listened, I began to think about the fact that in America, we don’t have that type of health crisis. We have no streets littered with leprous men or cripple children. We treat every physical condition. We have hospital upon hospital to address any and every physical ailment and malady. There are no slums here with disabled bodies scraping food off of market streets.
What we have in America cannot be seen with the naked eye. It is not readily obvious as we drive the fashionable avenues of our metropolis or the manicured streets of our suburbs. Even in the corridors of our inner cities, physical eyes will miss and overlook it. There are no polio victims…maybe an occasional panhandler, but nothing to the levels Joni described. Instead, we have streets littered with broken hearts, crippled souls, and wounded spirits. Our natural eyes will miss them. If we go too fast, we will overlook the crippled of America. We must see with spiritual eyes the afflictions and debilitations of the souls around us.
We see protestors, people on the other side of the political aisle…we see baristas and bartenders. We see waitresses and cashiers. We see grass-cutters and CEO’s, but they are souls. Wounded, crippled, crushed souls.
Give me eyes of faith to see the broken hearted that “crawl out” of the cracks and crevices of our urban scenes and country landscapes. Let me refuse to ignore the wounds and afflictions that can only be seen with spiritual eyes. Let my eyes be open to see souls as God does.
But seeing is only ½ of the equation. I am reminded of the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. In this famous parable, Jesus shares a story of a man who took a journey from Jerusalem to Jericho. While enroute, he is brutally attacked by thieves, stripped, beaten, and left on the side of the road “half dead.” The story continues: “By chance a priest came along…” THIS SEEMS GOOD! The Pastor is coming! “But when HE SAW the man lying there, he crossed by on the other side of the road and passed him by. Hope saw, but hope walked away. A man with the religious resources to help saw but refused to get involved. Maybe it was too messy? Maybe he’d be late for religious duties? Maybe he was just unsure of what to do? How the “half dead” man must have felt, to have been seen, but unattended to. His gaping wounds wracked his body with pain, but though he’d been “noticed,” his condition was exactly the same. Soon, hope appears on the horizon again. This time, it’s a Levite…a person whose life is dedicated for the service of the Lord. Fresh hope surges in the fading consciousness of the beaten man. “A temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.” (Luke 10:32/NLT) He looked. He saw. He observed. He noted the broken, bloodied condition of the brutalized man, but he kept going. Maybe he’d be late for church? Maybe he’d get blood on his “work clothes?” I don’t know the reasons why, but these two, who supposedly lived their lives for God, saw but refused to help. Seeing is only half of the equation.
Jesus story continues: “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of him. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.” (Luke 10:33-35/NLT)
This Samaritan is a “nobody.” In fact, Scripture describes him as “despised.” But, when humanity, throughout the ages of history, reads, or talks about, or remembers this man, we call him “GOOD Samaritan,” not “despised Samaritan.” He was “good” because he didn’t just see. This man, who was an outcast himself, saw, had compassion, and allowed compassion to move him to action. The Samaritan stopped and took time to bandage the injuries of the beaten man. He did what he could do to ease the suffering and clean the wounds of the one “half dead.” I’m sure it was messy. He was on a treacherous, mountainous path, possibly facing peril of thieves himself, but he used what he had with him to alleviate pain and address injury. More than likely, there was blood on his donkey and blood on his clothes as he hoisted this limp figure on his own beast for the journey to the inn. His seeing sparked compassion that lead to action. But it didn’t stop there. He knew he did not have the full resources to heal the injured man. He left him in the care of another, and he was willing to foot the bill for his treatment and care. He understood that the totality of the man’s healing was not in his own capabilities, but he did what he could and brought him to a place where he could fully recover.
Truly the avenues and alley of America are burgeoning with the wounded. Lord, give me eyes to see, and not just to see, but to have compassion that moves me to action. Let me refuse to “pass by on the other side.” Please give me grace to do what I can. Years ago, Andrew said, “The Good Samaritan was prepared to show mercy.” Let me be prepared with oil and wine for the wounded I encounter. Let me be willing to get messy in order to get them to the inn. Please keep me from ever thinking that I am anyone’s solution. The church is still the hospital and You are still the Great Physician. You are still the Healer. You still have a stated mission: “He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, and set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:11—Jesus quoting Isaiah 61:1-2) Healing broken hearts and bruised, crippled souls has always been a part of your plan. Please let me see, let me respond fueled by the mercy and compassion I myself have received, and let me bring the wounded I encounter to Your church, Your Word, and Your presence. This is where healing is. You’re still the keeper at the Inn.
Thank You, Joni, for a fresh reminder to watch for the weak and wounded.
I want to see like the Samaritan.
I still believe that it is Jesus desire to save each and every individual on the face of this planet.
I still believe the Word of God is the answer for our world.
I still believe that a relationship with Jesus will change your life.
I still believe that God heals broken hearts through His Word and His presence.
And I still believe that He wants to partner with His church to reach a lost and broken world.
He wants to heal U.
He wants to use U!