There are some words you hear or read, that you just never forget.
Eight years ago, I was sitting at my computer, just a day or two after the first youth meeting we held, after coming to Charlotte to begin ministering to the students here. It was a big, crazy, loud affair, (as these things often are), and my head was still spinning from our family’s recent move from the Northeast, the incredible amount of change we were engulfed in, and the overwhelming number of strangers that I was expected to get to know well… and quickly. The day had gone smoothly, with lots of laughter and conversation, and my new ministry team and I had done a great deal of preparation in a short time to get ready.
An email popped into my inbox. It was from a father, whose family was also relatively new to the area, and to the church. He began to share his gratitude for the warm, welcoming hospitality his teenage son and daughter had received the previous Sunday; how it was different from their encounters with the church before. The father shared the response his 8th grade daughter gave him, when he asked her what she liked about the meeting.
“They made me feel, visible.”
To this day, it’s one of the greatest compliments our ministry has ever received. To realize the power of letting someone feel seen, and known, in a world where they so rarely do, is one of the most transforming things we can experience.
And learning how to see, well it’s just a Jesus thing.
In the general population, Jesus is pretty well-known for his miracles; for mind-boggling, nature-defying acts, and for his teaching; those incredible, heart-piercing words that have shaped the world. But, as much as those things, the Scriptures remind us that it was Jesus’ vision, that made him who he was.
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. Matthew 4:18
Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them. Matthew 5:1-2
Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” Matt: 9:2
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9:36
When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Luke 13:12
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. John 11:33
Over and over again, Jesus shows us that what we see, is as important as what we say, or even, what we believe.
It’s a supernatural gift that God offers; a blessing of the eyes, to see what other people can’t see, or refuse to see. I think most Christians choose not to accept that gift, or we lose it over time.
Too often, we become so selective in our sight, so narrow in the way we view the world, that we miss a million opportunities to reflect Christ’s character, and in the process, we miss seeing countless people who cross our paths every day; those who spend most of their lives feeling invisible, especially around the Church.
Maybe we’re moving too fast, and the world around us is simply a blur.
Maybe we simply care about ourselves too much; that we can’t see beyond the mirror, or our own navels, to the massive need right in front of us.
Maybe we have grown hardened, and voluntarily choose to close our eyes, to those we find distasteful or inconvenient or messy.
But regardless of the reason, we need our lenses restored.
If there’s a prayer the Church and its people can pray today, that will bring revolution to itself, and life to the invisible people outside its doors, its: “Jesus, teach me how to see again.”
May you who claim Christ, go out there, and make someone feel visible.
