A young man of privilege, Jamie shared with my husband and me what he does to help “keep it real” in his life, despite his ready access to things. He told us of volunteering at the homeless shelter and why he picked that particular ministry. His desire to stay above the fray was encapsulated in one simple, yet profound sentence… “I do this because it’s really hard to go out and buy myself a new pair of shoes when I’ve just been with someone who has literally nothing.”
I’ve had a few days to think about this statement and I just can’t get it out of my head. It’s not about a particular burden for the homeless, though I do have one. But it’s about much more, for me. It’s about the bigger picture of life and how sometimes I get caught up in my concerns, fears and hurts and suddenly find myself diving into a pool of "me." Which is why Jamie’s statement was so impactful that I can’t stop thinking about it.
For me what it’s about is the reminder that when I focus on Jesus and fill my mind and heart with Him, it’s hard to have much time left to have a self obsession. I, like most of us, begin acting in the flesh when I focus on mine. I think about my fears…my worries…my hurts…and then I react by slipping further down into a place where problems seem bigger than life and the reality of who Jesus Christ is despite all of it is minimized and nearly forgotten.
But when I think about Jesus, the great One…the Best of the Best and worthy of all of my praise and attention…it becomes much less about me and all about Him.
I see that Jeremiah shared my sentiments.
“All this is nothing compared to you, O God. You're wondrously great, famously great. Who can fail to be impressed by you, King of the nations? It's your very nature to be worshipped! Look far and wide among the elite of the nations. The best they can come up with is nothing compared to you.” (Jeremiah 10:6-9) MSG
Today, I think about Jesus. And when I do, my spirit craves to know more about this One who rescues me from a focus on things that just don’t compare.
4 comments:
Jesus is all the world to me; without him, I am as nothing, and I know it.
God, keep my eyes embedded in the vertical so as to minister in the horizontal.
Love you, Lisa. Have a Jesus-thinkin' day!
peace~elaine
Isn't it wonderful when we center in on Him and other things fall in place under His feet! The Lord is helping me REALLY understand my expectations are in Him. Not in the things around me but in Him above. You have to go vertical before you can be effective horizontally. B
Oh wow, did this speak to me this week. Thank you so much for following God's prompting and writing this.
I have been reminded too that I get way too caught up in the "stuff of me" rather focusing on Him.
I too want more and more of Him!
Hi Lisa,
Wow this falls in line with what my pastor was talking about today. How we as Americans suffer from the dreaded disease of "Affluencenza" and we were looking at the story of the rich young ruler in Mark 10.
He talkead about how Money and Wealth can fool us into thinking we don't need to depend on God. It gives us a false sense of independence.
Thank you for sharing Jamies thoughts
Hope all is well your way.
Carol
Post a Comment