There are people in my life that drive me crazy. There are people in my life that I have trouble imagining living without. There are people in my life that are just acquaintances. I have dear friends that I see every day, and dear friends I only see every once in awhile. Here at school, I've run into strangers, strange people and strange people who have become friends. I just found out that in Grove City alone, there are 33,000 people, 2,500 of whom attend Grove City College.
I don't think about most of these people. I don't talk to most of the people I walk by every day. I don't do it to be rude or mean, it's just how things "work" here at school. There are awkward moments, when the sidewalk suddenly becomes fascinating, so you don't have to try to figure out how to greet the person passing you on the other side of the sidewalk. There are moments, especially in this wintry weather, when someone I've never met before suddenly slips in front of me. My thought process goes like this: "Do I help them? Would they be embarrassed? Do they want me to talk to them or just go around and pretend I didn't notice that they just fell over? Oh, man. Awkward…" I usually go with the: "Hey…you okay?" and I usually get a: "Yeah. I'm fine." in response, as they hurriedly get up and pretend it never happened. People. They're everywhere. (I know…mind-blowing revolution, right there!)
I was reading "Crazy Love" this week, (it's changing my life...I'm not kidding) and as I was reading chapter 7, Francis Chan asked a question that I don't think I've ever thought all the way through. He was talking about radical obedience to Jesus and was quoting a passage from Matthew 25:42-45 about the end times when Jesus judges all people. And he asked this:
"How would my life change if I actually thought of each person I came into contact with as Christ?"
In Matthew 25, Christ says this: "I tell you truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me."
As Chan says, 'Ouch'. There are a lot of things that I haven't done for Christ. There are a lot of things I have done to Christ that I wish I hadn't.
Consider this: Jesus is the one in front of me who falls down - if I knew it was Jesus - would I even stop to wonder whether I should help Him up?
Or this: Jesus is living in my house and asks if I would help pick up and unload the dishwasher. If I knew it was Jesus asking, would I complain or have a bad attitude?
And this: Jesus is the one I purposely ignore while walking down the sidewalk. If I knew it was Jesus - wouldn't I, at the very least, smile at Him?
It made me wonder. Am I really different from everybody else? Is my Christian faith so radically changing my life that I am a servant to all? That I die to self daily? That I see Christ in others? Do I love the 'least of these' the way I say I want to love Christ? If I weren't a Christian, would my life look any different?
I'm writing Chan's question down and putting it in my ID holder. I pray that this week, I would begin to serve others the way I want to serve Christ. I pray that I would "show tangible love for God" in the way that I care for others around me, whether that means my professors, the slow driver in front of me, the annoying kid that sits next to me or the people down the hall of my dorm room.
"Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Ephesians 5:1-2.
Winter in Grove City
It snows nearly every day.
That's why the sidewalks are so slippery.
Honest.
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