the bigger picture

for a while now, maybe the last two or three months, there has been a new couple attending the church. their names are sparky and deloris and you often couldn't miss them because they were very frequently in front of the church hanging out before service, scrounging up a couple of bucks to get something to eat. one could often find them attending, at random, any of the evening activities, hanging out with the youth group, or sitting in to watch the worship team practice; and i've actually heard that they were at the church on many more occasions than that.

there was one thing that stuck out about sparky and deloris that was very distinct. to put it as indirectly as i can, they appeared to be under very difficult financial times.

but to just come right out and say it, they looked... homeless.

sunday morning i'd received word that they were both very badly injured in a car accident on marina blvd this weekend. possibly leaving the church. possibly on their way to the church. they were airlifted to the trauma center at john muir medical center in walnut creek. fortunately, they've been assigned a social worker to look after them on a regular basis. deloris has road rash all over her face and a very badly broken leg. she will probably need to undergo lots of physical therapy for an extended amount of time. sparky wasn't so lucky. he was slipping in and out of consciousness. he's lost one of his legs, and the overall outlook on his condition is very bleak.

i've prayed for them. we've prayed for them as a church. i really do hope that they turn out fine. i wonder if i'll ever get to see them again. i wonder if they'll ever be able to make it back to the church. i wonder... i wonder... i wonder...

i wonder why this had to happen to them. i mean, they had clearly already undergone some extremely difficult living conditions, and i'm not even talking about shelter, i'm talking about living from day to day. they didn't appear to have money to feed themselves on a regular basis. they walked everywhere and appeared to be beaten down by the hot sun on most days. and really? they both had to get blasted in a car accident? is that even fair?!

to go all "church" on everyone for a second, God sees the bigger picture. He really does. What we see from day to day is an extremely cropped snapshot of what is really going on. i get that. He works for the good of those who love Him. i get that too. He's always in control and knows exactly what He's doing. i get that part too, i really do. i think i understand that in my brain and in my heart as much as i humanly can. [as i'm writing this, i'm thinking that i might sound sarcastic in this last part, but i'm not trying to, and i'm not being that way.] but there's a human side to all of this "trusting God" where i couldn't help but ask "what are you doing, God?" not in a defiant way, but in an utterly curious way. "You planned this God? How in...Your own... name, are you going extract Your glory from this? How?!" I don't get it. and i understand i'm not supposed to get it, which, i think, just makes me think about it a little bit more...

a while back i saw a video on Godtube.com, called 99 balloons. (I challenge anyone to watch this video and not well up in tears.) It's about a young couple and their new born baby, named Elliot, who was born with a genetic disorder called "Trisomy 18", or Edward's Syndrome. It chronicles their days with baby elliot, and one of the most poignant things said in the video is how God could not be stopped from revealing Himself through a child with a genetic disorder who never uttered a word. He didn't use a pulpit, or a website, or a powerpoint presentation. He used a very unlikely newborn to proclaim His own glory. and i look at sparky and deloris and i wonder what it is exactly God had planned.

i know that Jesus spent a great portion of His time with the poor and the homeless and was actually homeless Himself. without any degree of arrogance or self-righteousness i can say that i didn't mistreat sparky or deloris, i looked them in the eye when i greeted them and have also been able to bless them with food and a ride home on seperate occasions, but i'd be lying if i didn't view them callously at times. why do we do that? how many times have we not acknowledged a person with a sign or a cup for change? how many times have we suddenly checked our phones for a missed call as we walk by, avoiding eye contact? are we just trying to not get involved? i had to consciously pull into my mind that if Christ spent His earthly time with them, then so could i...

maybe it was a kind of pop quiz from God. maybe He was thinking, "here is a couple who will bring you out of your comfort zone... do for them what my Son did for them... there is a time limit, and when your time is up they will no longer be within your reach." maybe they were at this church to teach us compassion? maybe none of this is true at all and i'm just making wild allegations... i guess i'll find out when i go home to glory.

but if His purpose for them was to teach me compassion, then He gets the glory. And even if His purpose was something completely different than that... He still gets the glory.

matthew 25:34-40
34"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. 35For 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, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'