don’t look away

Acts 3:4a “Peter looked straight at him, as did John.”

This sentenced fascinated me today. There was a lame man at the gate called Beautiful. It says that he was there every day. Peter and John prayed every day. It stands to reason that this wasn’t the first time they’d walked by this broken man. But on the day in question Peter “looked straight at him”.

I thought about how many times I look away from the hurting. Who are we missing who’s hurting right in front of us? I think about all the people I pass in church and don’t take the time to engage in their brokenness. I think about the neighbor who doesn’t know Jesus. I think about Global Poverty,  Haiti, World Vision, Human Trafficking, The Plumpy Nut Initiative, Compassion, Chile, Voice of the Martyrs, Iran, Charity Water and the other millions of great needs of the world we live in. It’s so much easier to disengage before it ever has a chance to grab my heart. Because once it’s there I have to respond to what I’ve seen.

I know we can’t handle all the world’s problems, but I also know that we can’t hide our head in the sand and pretend the world isn’t hurting. And most of us can’t pretend like we can’t find some way to help. Let me encourage you to find some way to look straight at a problem today. Maybe it’s one of the organizations I linked to above or maybe something God’s placed in your heart (or put in your way). Look it in the eye today. Engage it with your heart, your soul, your strength and your wallet. Don’t look away.

PS…I want to thank a couple of people who make it hard for me to look away. Thanks @ShaunKing & @EugeneCho.