Why not?

“Some men see things as they are and ask why. I dream of things that never were and say, why not.”

-Robert F. Kennedy

What was so special about Jesus’ compassion? What did He have that most of us lack? The action that true compassion should draw out from within us. How did He do it? Maybe this is incorrect theology, but I think we focus too much on the fact that He was God as well as human. That has been used as an excuse for centuries while people have stood by, justifying their lack of justice because well, to be honest, they just aren’t as just as God. I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but if you were born after the death & resurrection of Jesus Christ and you’ve opened your heart to Him, you now have God in your very being. I’ve often wondered if it’s blasphemous to imagine that we, in a way, are very much like Jesus. No, we weren’t chosen to be born of a virgin and save the world, but we can be one with the Father just as He is one with the Father. Is it so wrong to think such a thing? My point is that I desire to change the world. It has already been saved, but there is always room for change. I want to be it. I want more than a deep sorrow. I want a loud voice. I want a courageous heart. I want helping hands and blistered feet. I want purposeful passion, directed action, and motioned compassion.

Something I’ve noticed about myself is that I tend to have this outrageous portion of empathy. It’s hard for me to go into hospitals because I imagine having the pains and diseases. If I am praying for someone’s situation, I usually weep like it’s my own. If I hear about an accident or tragedy, my heart aches as I imagine… “What if that was me?” For some reason, I think that was Jesus’ mindset. Several times he told his disciples that he was going to die, so maybe He constantly acted on His merciful feelings because He knew He would physically, emotionally, even spiritually, be in the same despair and hurt as the people He touched. Maybe His focus was more than that question. Maybe He took it a step further and said, “This will be me.” Maybe He saw a piece of Himself in the searching eyes of the lost, just as we are to see Him there. Maybe in order to be the change we wish to see in this world, we need to add some empathy and understanding to our compassion, mix that with a lot of Holy Spirit power and reliance on His guidance, and WHAM!

I watched the movie Amazing Grace tonight. I’m so in awe by the message it preaches-- that all men are favored and loved in God’s eyes, and that it is our responsibility to protect this truth and fight for this truth. I loved the scene when William Wilberforce, the main character & real life abolitionist, is not sure how to best live out the passion God gave him. A fellow abolitionist asks him whether he wants to be a man of God or a politician who defends the rights of the slaves. He says he isn’t quite sure, and this fellow replies something along the lines of, I dare to think you can do both. Today I dare to believe the same. Even more than that, the people of God ARE to be the change in the world. It doesn’t always happen that way, but we are intended to be & created to be. Whatever your passion may be, discover it and then pursue it. I really think that if everyone stopped trying to be who they think they want to be and started being who they were created to be and are equipped to be, then we would be changing the world more drastically. I have a passion for the helpless-- the children, the abused women, those in bondage. I am seeing more & more every day that I can do something with this passion in so many different ways: spending time at the Elementary school, researching and being trained in human trafficking, taking time to actually talk to people and get to know them, reaching out to foreigners and helping them feel welcome. And those are just to name a few! Seek & ye shall find; ask & the answer will be given; knock & the door will be opened. What will you do with your life? What will you let HIM do with your life?

I feel like I have a small sight of the huge vision of what the Body of Christ could be and should be-- a family with many different personalities, accents, and styles humbly loving God and loving everyone else, choosing to lose their own dreams and desires so they may gain a higher and better agenda, becoming servants of all, learning from each other and working together to bring everything that is good from heaven to earth through every single action, word, & thought, showing grace when it is undeserved, caring more about the cares of others than their own needs, living lives that dramatically clash with and stand apart from the typical and normal, with no regard for who has the most people in attendance or the fullest bank account or who gets the credit.

Let’s be who we are made to be. The rest is up to God.

“If the Lord be with us, we have no cause of fear.

His eye is upon us.

His arm over us.

His ear open to our prayer.

His grace sufficient.

His promise unchangeable.”

-John Newton