Do we truly understand?

Hello, my friends...

For the last two days, my spirit has heard that still, small voice saying something it took me a while to understand.

"Seeing yet they do not see. Hearing yet they do not understand."

Yes, there are similar versus in the Scripture. But, I wondered if the meaning was more that what we see with pen on paper.

I am reminded of the commercial on t.v. where the young girls are in the locker room watching a water faucet running. All walk by, stop and stare, but only one reaches through the crowd to turn off the faucet. We hear so much in our churches, on religious broadcasts, in the media. We hear truth over and over. How often, though, do we walk through the crowd and respond to the call of that truth on our hearts? We see so much in this world, and yet we fail to act! We are inundated with information and yet we rarely respond in faith. You might say, "Oh yes I do! I go to church. I read my Bible." But are we becoming so insulated against the world that we forget to live in it? (Believe me, there's a difference between being insulated against the world and isolated from the world.)

My life has been broad and narrow at the same time. I've been exposed to much but have chosen, in the past, to narrow my vision and not allow my mind to take in all I see and hear. What I have found is that this closes me off to people and lessons that would not only benefit ME, but reach others too. If my faith is firm, why should I be afraid of reading other schools of thought? If my faith is firm, why should I not reach outside of my faith community? Of course, the wonderful "sweet bye and bye" feeling we get in church is great. But, unless it is a catalyst to action, to learning, what good is it except to tickle our ears and our emotions?

The walk of faith is one of action. Unless we take the teachings to which we are exposed and bring them to a world of orphans, widows and less fortunate, why are we bothering to learn? Is it just for the sake of heaven? Dear Lord, I hope not or we will be sorely disappointed. God created us as siblings... regardless of race, color, creed, ethnicity, sexual orientation...to reach out to each other and care for each other. If we, as a group of believers, fail to do that then we have failed in our call to be ministers of reconciliation in this world.

It's not about me. It's not about you. It's about THEM. THEM are the ones God brings along your path every single day who need a word of encouragement because they're bruised and battered, need a hamburger from McDonald's and a warm bed because they are homeless and hungry, or a ride to church on Sunday because their car broke down. It's not about guarding our turf of service, but about reaching beyond the call to service and touching hearts and lives!

I would encourage you today to open your hearts and minds to the fullness of all there is in this wonderful creation and bring that light with you through your days. You will be surprised how fulfilling life can be when you step out of the pew onto the street and ask God to touch lives through you.

May God richly bless you this day, open your heart to new teaching, and cause you to see the needy all around you to whom only you can be a blessing.

CLG-B