Have you ever driven from one place to another with no recollection of anything that happened along the way?
I frequently have this problem where I’ll drive from point A to point B and have no idea what happened to me. I won’t remember a single thing about the drive. Sometimes I’ll drive 45 minutes and not be able to recall a single minute of the trip. Did I run a red light? Was I speeding? Did I hit a pelican? We may never know. It’s not that I’m not paying attention to my driving, deep down I know I was driving safely, I just wasn’t paying enough attention to remember any of it.
Of course, It freaks me out each time I get home and can’t remember stopping at any lights or making any turns, but it also makes me think of how I live my life when I’m not driving.
Am I paying JUST enough attention to make it safely through, only to arrive at my destination with no recollection of the journey?
If I came into contact with someone who needed my help would I be aware enough to see it?
In the parable of the good Samaritan, at least the priest and the levite were aware of the man’s predicament though they did nothing to help him.
(Whether it’s better to be ignorant than to be aware but not act is a discussion for another time)
In Matthew 25, Jesus calls his disciples to be aware of the needs of the people around him:
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
While this is indeed a call to serve the hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, and imprisoned strangers, I believe it is also a call to pay attention; Christ wants us to treat everyone around us the way we would treat him. Ephesians and Colossians echo this call to be alert by warning us to be wise in our actions, especially those towards outsiders so that we can make the most of every opportunity.
We should strive not to just get where we’re going, but also to be able to give a full account of everything we saw along the way. To pay attention to the needs of the people around us and to serve them as if they were Christ himself. Life’s a lot like the highway; there are always people off to the side with their hazards flashing, it’s up to us to be aware of them and offer whatever help we can.
*this blog was originally posted at http://isixtyone.info/daniel/ click the link to read more from isixtyone*
