Blind Sighted

Have you ever felt that life has passed you by?

Look, he passes by me, and I do not see him; he moves on, but I do not perceive him. - Job 9:11

In today's reading from the Book of Job, that feeling of being passed by is magnified a thousand times or more.  Job feels abandoned by God and he is complaining about it.  To whom?

In telling his friend, he is really crying out to the one who abandoned him, God.

It is understandable that he would feel that way.  God has been his comfort and strength his whole life, and many blessings have come his way.  He attributes all that to God and he gives it all value.

That may be his biggest mistake.  What we gain in this life is only a shadow, a glimpse of what we will come to encounter in God's presence, if we can set aside all that is obstructing our vision and see it.

I could be talking about the life after this, but what if the true value of God's presence is something we can appreciate now?  What if we are holding ourselves back from experiencing God in all His glory merely because we have blinded ourselves to the reality that God is with us right bow, here where we are?

Several of the men and women who came to the soup kitchen today smiled at me and thanked me.  That was God I saw in them, and I was humbled, knowing it was not my work alone that provided them with a meal.  All of us staff and volunteers and all who support and sponsor what we do helped make the meal possible.  God was smiling at all of us.

As one of the men fist bumped me and another shook my hand, I could honestly feel the love in them, and I hope they felt it in me as well.

All of us who put forth the effort to be involved in ministry should know it is not us alone.  God moves us to heal the fractures that separate us from each other, and in doing so, God is made whole.

What we see matters.

How we share what we see and do matters as well.  I believe when God created the world, He created separateness.  Each of His creatures and creations were defined as individuals, given its own identity.  He did that for a purpose, and I believe that purpose is ours to fulfill.

We are to finish the creation by bringing all the pieces together in a tapestry of love.

So, I ask this.  How are we doing?

Are we God sighted or are we blind sighted when it comes to looking in each other's eyes?

I think it is time to open our eyes.

More to come...