Get Involved
In the book of John (chapter 5, verse 6) it paints a scene of a man in need and we read “When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to be healed?’”
Why do we, in many cases, see situations and know about circumstances but fail to even ask the most basic of questions? Is it because, at some level, we don’t really want to get involved? Is it that we don’t really want to expend the energy necessary to make a difference in someone else’s life? Is it because, as author Mark Batterson writes in his book Primal, we’re not really interested “in being great at the Great Commandment” which is to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength and love others as we do ourselves?
These are questions I’m asking myself today. Interested to see how God will respond to this Great Commandment curiosity. It’s worth noting that Jesus didn’t immediately try and fix the man’s problem, rather he sought to foster a relationship. Foster relationships…that’s a great idea every time!
She Follows Me
One of my favorite poems is called A Little Fellow Follows Me. It goes like this -
A careful man I want to be,
A little fellow follows me;
I do not dare to go astray,
For fear he’ll go the self-same way.
I cannot once escape his eyes,
Whate’er he sees me do, he tries;
Like me he says he’s going to be,
The little chap who follows me.
He thinks that I am good and fine,
Believes in every word of mine;
The base in me he must not see,
The little chap who follows me.
I must remember as I go,
Through summer’s sun and winter’s snow;
I am building for the years to be
That little chap who follows me.
When I read I always have a highlighter in my hand. So my daughter Sabrina saunters into my den this morning as I’m just sitting down to read (with highlighter in hand) and climbs up on my lap. I have to admit, that as she proceeded to try and engage me in conversation, I was trying to disengage her from my lap so I could get started. My desire was granted and off she went…only to return moments later with her Bible in her hand. She asked me for a “marker” like mine. I handed her a fresh one out of a new package. She asked me to find the book of Daniel for her, which I did. A few minutes later she comes bounding back in and, with much joy, shows me Daniel chapter 1…completely highlighted!
I have a couple “little fellows” that follow me - my two boys. I also have a little girl who follows me. And the littlest, seemingly insignificant acts are caught in her little eyes and heart. And then, watching her replay what she has seen reminds me that when little ones are following you, the “ordinary and insignificant” can turn into the “extraordinary and profound”.
I think she’ll get a package of highlighters as a stocking stuffer!