His Eyes

As I was leaving the WalMart (a.k.a "Wal-Mahal") parking lot yesterday, I was singing along to Brandon Heath's song, "Give Me Your Eyes". In my heart, I was saying, "Yes, Lord, I really do want to see the world the way you do. Help me see people from the perspective you have." Who might it be, I wondered, that I needed to see differently?

At just that moment, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a dirty, disheveled man standing in the median of the parking lot exit. His cardboard sign read, "Need a job. Will work for food." To be honest, my typical reaction would be to say a quick prayer for him, think what a shame it is that he'd probably use any money he was given to buy alcohol, wonder if he was scamming, and then drive away.

Not yesterday though. The Lord opened my eyes to this man in a completely different way. My stomach began to get knots in it, but not out of disgust or fear. Instead, I felt the most overwhelming compassion for him, and I realized that truly, he is my brother because he was created by my Father. In that split second when I first saw him, it was as if God whispered in my ear, "Maria, if you met this man while you were on a mission trip, you would give him the shirt from your back and all the money you had with you. THIS is your mission field today. What will you give to my child?"

Without hesitation, praying fervently that the light wouldn't change too quickly, I reached inside my purse and grabbed some money. I rolled down my window and called out, "Sir! Sir! Please come over here." The man's eyes got wide, and before he even knew that I was going to give him some money, he said, "Oh God bless you! God bless you for calling me 'Sir'!" I was dumbfounded. Even more than money, his greatest need was to be recognized as a person of worth.

I fumbled to hand him the money, but I found myself with a lump in my throat and no words to say. The man, who no longer looked so dirty to me, repeated, "God bless you! God bless you!" Finally, I choked out, "Oh, He has blessed me, and now I pray He will bless you."

The light changed, and our exchange ended. Those brief moments have been in my heart and thoughts ever since.

You know, it's really not up to us to determine what someone else might do with money or time or energy that we give them. Instead, it is up to us to give freely from the depths of our love for Christ.

May I never forget that man, and may I always see with the eyes of Christ.

"Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlookd or ignored, that was me--you did it to me." Matthew 25:40, The Message