Investing in the Invisible

         There is a line in a song called The Desert Song that goes a little something like this, “I know I’m filled to be emptied again, the seed I've received I will sow.” Such beautiful words strung together to display an action that we as Christians are called to do. There are so many verses in the bible that deal with building disciples, helping to guide the lost, evangelism, and loving on those who are not so easy to love on.
       It warms my heart to see Christians stepping into their ministries and into their purpose and getting out of their comfort zones to do so. It definitely takes a huge leap of faith and diligence to leave the country to share Gods word with those who are not exposed to it like we are as Americans. I truly have immense amounts of respect for those sweet souls..but one thing that truly breaks my heart into pieces is how way too often we ignore those lost souls standing in line next to us at the grocery store, or the girl who comes to church every week and sits in the back row by herself, or even your childhood friend who you no longer speak to.
     I am just as guilty of it so please do not think that I am not speaking to myself, but I have had the privilege of learning from a past that incorporates two worlds. One world where I don’t see my friends without one of them offering to pray for me, or providing encouragement and love…and another world where my friends are sincerely trying to understand my love for Jesus as they order a round of shots and swear between gulps.
     There is one thing that I know that my Lord has called me to do, and that is to love on both of those groups of people the exact same. Notice that the line of that song also says, “I know I’m filled…” This is something I have learned the hard way, and that is  the bible does say that, “Bad company corrupts good morals.”(1 Cor 15:33) Which means that it is important to remain steadfast in your pursuit of the Lord and be careful not to get swept away when surrounded by those who don’t always honor the Christian lifestyle, but this does not mean to stop investing in these peoples lives.

     Let me share a little story with you. I am not going to name any names, but recently a friend of mine and I met for dinner to catch up and at the end of the dinner he looked at our server and simply asked her if she was familiar with the gospel. I was blown away by this boldness and my immediate thought was how awesome I thought that was. She proceeded to explain how she was a practicing Muslim and she did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. After about an hour of rattling off countless scripture at this young woman, my friend blatantly said, “If you do not believe that Jesus came to die for your sins, when you die..you will go to hell.” My mouth dropped and I immediately excused myself to the restroom where I proceeded to wipe away my uncontrollable tears. When I came back he was not phased a bit and was ready to go with a smile. That night I could not sleep. ( I ended up finding the girl on facebook to apologize and ask if she wanted to hang out sometime, she was so sweet and I have actually gone back to see her a few times.)
 This is what I am getting at. My friend, whom I love whole heartedly had the absolute best intentions..but what lacked from his intentions, was love..1 Cor 13:3 “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.  And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.   And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. “ He was completely unaffected if that girl accepted Christ or not, and THAT right there people…is the problem.

It seriously angers me how wrong we have it sometimes. One of my good friends recently told me that she is completely unconcerned with numbers, she said if I am able to truly invest in one person’s life and help hold them accountable and they truly love the Lord for all of their days..that right there is more important than sharing the gospel with hundreds... Just like with this girl…why don’t we actually learn her first name, get to know her, learn her heart before we throw our beliefs onto her. Where is the love?  I am so sick of telling people that I am going to hang out with a person and them asking..Are they in the Kingdom? ISNT THAT THE POINT???!!!!

We don’t have the most sacred knowledge of this life just to keep it for our small little group of  Christian friends do we? No..that is not what our Father had in mind. We are ALL his children..not just those of us who “fit in” to a churchy category. The reason I am so passionate about this is because I have seen lives changed when you simply choose to accept them as they are and listen to their hearts, we were all lost once weren’t we?     I was the outcast..the girl who was told that “If you didn’t change, I was planning on not hanging out with you ever again”…OUCH.  The girl who went to church every week with her one friend for one year that nobody even noticed  until her big brother was radically saved, the girl who hears the broken hearts of her friends that are lost and judged and how they are so turned off by Christians because they aren’t given the time of day. It is time to get uncomfortable.
We have a responsibility as Christians to invest in the lives of those who nobody believes will change, to get out of our little Christian bubbles, and to start seeing the invisible people. Matthew 5:47 “And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?”
                I did not step foot into church for over a year because of the bitterness that I harbored for those people who did not accept me, notice me, or take the time to learn my heart..but God healed that. I learned that I was 50% of that problem and I have been forgiven and forgave those who don’t even know that they broke my heart. The fact is people are imperfect beings, and we are all going to fall short, the reason why we hold Christians to a higher standard is because there is a sacred calling on our lives. People who have never felt loved in their entire lives walk into a church expecting to be accepted and loved, and if we don’t step up to our calling no matter how uncomfortable, then people will continue to bash the church.

This post is not to bash anyone, it is a wake up call. I am so incredibly imperfect and I struggle with this as well, but when someone holds me accountable and it really pisses me off..that’s usually a red flag that its exactly what I need to hear. So you can read this and hate my stinkin guts, but I can guarantee you that if we live by this truth…that invisible person will bloom, and lives will be taken over by Jesus...