We scurry around getting everyone ready and presentable before heading out the door to church. Running late, we rush in breathlessly and deposit our children in their respective classrooms. Without a sideways glance, we plop down in our seat and wait for the service to begin. We have come, not to minister, but to be ministered to. Being solely consumed with the destination, we missed countless opportunities for ministry along the way.
The young mother visiting for the first time. How she longed for someone to take her by the hand and show her where her children should be and then invite her to sit with them. Instead, she slips quietly into the back row, alone.
The elderly couple who found out this week she has cancer. They are afraid. They need someone to encourage them, to pray with them, to be there as they walk this dark road. Instead they sit, holding onto one another, alone.
The businessman in the expensive suit who seems outwardly to have it all together. Inwardly he is utterly lost. He came today to see if maybe there is some hope left for him. He needs someone to befriend him and point him to the One who is our hope. Alone, he watches others and wonders why he came.
These scenarios could have been played out in any church, in any town across America this morning. Each Sunday, we sit surrounded by hurting people. They may be able to put on their "happy Sunday" face, but inside they are devastated by life's circumstances. What are we doing about it? How much of a difference would one hug make? A listening ear? A time of prayer? What impact would those things have on someone barely holding on? Are we willing to be someone's lifeline?
Frankly, it's easy to become apathetic. We go to church, shake a few hands, smile sweetly and inquire how someone is doing and then leave feeling we've done our duty. It's another story entirely to look someone in the eye and ask how they're really doing. As mature Christians, we need to read between the lines. What questions can we ask to dig deeper into the heart of what they're not saying? Proverbs says, "The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out." We must take the time to draw out those deep waters. Looking closer at the deep waters of a person's heart, we may find someone on the verge of drowning.
Lord, let us not be so consumed with our own lives that we fail to see the needs around us. Give us Your eyes to see, Your ears to hear and Your heart to understand so that we can minister to those we may otherwise overlook.
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