Saturday, May 22, 2010

Let's be "Christian about this thing"!

Okay, who doesn't think that The Blind Side is one of the best movies EVER?!  Unbelievable!  I won't give too much away, but there is a conversation in there that you have to be paying attention to in order to catch.  It's a scene early on in the movie where Big Mike is lying on the couch of a couple who has "taken him in" and the couple is arguing about what to do...here's the conversation:

Woman: I’m tired of having someone always in our home. I’m tired of him eating all the food.

Man: Look, man, you gotta be Christian about this thing.

Woman: Let somebody else be Christian about this thing.

Man: Dee, come on, I can’t kick him out on the street like he’s some dog.

Woman: Let somebody else take the responsibility.

WOW..."Let somebody else be Christian about this thing"?!?!  "Let somebody else take the responsibility"?!?!  Couldn't believe my ears...then, it hit me...isn't that US?  Don't WE put off everything that isn't convenient, scheduled, comfortable, responsible...the "Christian thing to do"?  I mean, this guy was homeless and kept having nightmares that flashed back to childhood trauma and this woman says, "Let somebody else be Christian about this thing"?!

I do know Jesus came for the sick...the wounded...the traumatized.  And, as I have mentioned before, one of my pastors made the comment about how Jesus was always hanging out with people with problems.  And, well, in my opinion, we all have problems.  But, I know He uses us in each other's lives to heal and to "bind up the broken-hearted" so, I think I need to take a little inventory.  Am I reaching out to the sick...or, am I only hanging out with those that are "normal" or "comfortable"?  Tough question for any of us to answer.  I've heard A LOT of talk about community and connecting and getting messy...but, I haven't SEEN OR DONE a lot to put this into practice.

So, I wonder, can we "cross" other barriers or segregation lines to form community?  Lines like race, sex, color, health, intelligence, wealth, appearance, etc.  I think if we did this more often, it would bless and heal more in our lives than we could ever imagine!!!  

Back to The Blind Side...
Well, somebody else WAS "Christian about this thing"!...or to the traumatized and homeless, Big Mike!  This lady, Leigh Anne, SAW him and INVITED him into their home.  She didn't give up on him and even when he didn't trust and tried to run.  She was persistent, loved him and DIDN'T give up on him!

She even walked away from some "high society"/financially wealthy friends!  One of her friends made a comment to her about how she was changing Big Mike's life...well, Leigh Anne promptly responded with, "No, he's changing ours!"

So, if you haven't seen this movie...DO SO!!!  Then, watch it again...then again...and well, maybe again!  If you don't have the access or the time...well, read the Beatitudes Matthew 5:1-12...and then, read it again...and again....and again!!! :-)

Wake up, Beloved!  He is everywhere....even in those you may have overlooked, abandoned and maybe thought you were "better than".  Jesus shows up in so many different places...often where we least expect it and often where we think we need to turn away from!  The "least of these" changes so often and quickly...you are where you are only because of Him...and, that can change in a blink of an eye!

I believe Leigh Anne knew that...and she WAS "Christian about this thing"!!!

God have mercy on Your Beloved!

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy,"  -Matthew 5:7