I am going to a Switchfoot concert tonight, and so naturally
I’ve been listening to them in order to get more pumped up for it!! And so I
was listening to one of their oldies This
is your life, I couldn’t help but think about the question they were
asking. “This is your life, are you who you want to be?” I know that for me, as
I seek to become more of who God created me to be, I am able to more genuinely
say, yes, to that question. But this is a very hard question. We are daily
surrounded by so many people, media, and stories of people and things we want
to be, that it is hard to say yes to that question. I spent some time thinking
about this, and was soon led to one of my recent friends, that I began meeting
with this year who has special needs and speaks of the sadness she has when she
thinks of how the seizures she suffered as a child have affected her. I think
she is content, but I wonder if many struggle with saying yes to that question
as well.
As I seek to see beauty in everyone, seeing the value in everyone
and viewing them as masterpieces perfectly crafted into who God wanted them to
be. I ask myself, how can I, if needed, help those I work with to answer yes to
the question “this is your life are you who you want to be?” I think this more
fully gets at the idea of seeing unique and beautiful value in everyone. Yes,
we all have dreams of who we want to be, but at the end of the day, are we
content with who God created us to be?
I really liked what he had to say in this, I thought it was really powerful and encouraging just for myself, but what if we took it a step further. What if we took what we heard from this and asked ourselves what masterpieces we saw in each other? What if we began viewing each life as a beautiful masterpiece? Can you imagine the effect that would have on the way we would interact with each other!
In case you wanted to go back and chew some of the things he was saying (I know I did!) here are the words!
A guy came up to me the other night, right, and he was like who is your favorite artist, and like most people do when they ask you that, he didn’t really want to listen to what my answer was. And he continued about a struggle to recognize who he said was the greatest of all time. He said, I mean is it Shakespeare, is it Frost, is it Picasso, Michelangelo, is it Rembrandt, Beethoven, Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber. Okay, he didn’t really say that, that part was me, I’m a fan, what can I say. Bieber fever. But he said, whoever is lyrically the strongest, and said, whoever has lived the longest and he went on, and on, and on about who he thought was the greatest, not realizing even his infrastructure to answer that question was misled and outdated. So finally, I kindly smiled and said, okay, sir you asked me who is The Greatest of All Time, now you tried to share yours, so let me share mine.
Now, see there is no debate about who is the greatest, because all those other artists you mentioned, yeah, the greatest made them. And see this artist, he is a beast, man, the lion, the name above names, you don’t even realize it but you encounter his art every day. And he deserves all the acclaim, he deserves all of the fame, because all other artists fade away, but he remains. Oh, by the way, by the way, his name is God, Yahweh, creator, your maker. He is infinitely creative, sir, there is no one greater. And I can tell, it looks like you are starting to get mad at me, but don’t be jealous just because your favorite artist might bend words, and my favorite artist bends galaxies.
See in the palm of his hand he holds all the sand, the author of life, when he whispered let us make man. I mean what if you knew that you are God’s poetry. You were created, because someone else was creative. See, long ago he picked up his eternal paint brush, dipped in his glory, placed you in his story and said, they will live for me. And, and, I know it sounds outlandish, but we are not the product of random chances. In fact we are not even the vine; we are actually the branches, in the same way. No, we are not the artist, we are actually the canvas. Because in an instant, God started to make art, shaped/[chipped] uniquely and beautiful individual from the start and he touched the canvas of flesh and said, this one is better than the rest, I’ll give him so much of my image so even when they’re hot off the press they’ll look so much like me, you can still see the steam of my breath.
And so, he crafted and he made every arm and leg, ligaments, tendons, muscles, blood vessels, veins, arteries. He said, they are going to have a part of me. And it was right about then, the guy butted back in and said, the guy butted back in and said, I am filthy, God won’t use me, will he? And I said, that’s the greatest part about God, even if we’ve messed up, he can still use us. Even though other artists once they have broken equipment, they start to make excuses, but God instead doesn’t refuse us, and neither does he accuse us, he redeems us in Jesus, promises never to lose us.
So, stop saying that you’re dirt, stop saying you’re scum of the earth. You ought to be careful about, how you talk about someone else’s work. Because if you have trusted in Jesus man, you can stop saying you are filthy. All that is anyways is just pride, clothed, and false humility. I mean if only we believe that we truthfully are created in his likeness, then we’d stop saying we are messed up, guilty, wretched, filthy, but instead knowing if we trusted Jesus we are righteous.
I mean, don’t you know you are drawn to repentance because of his kindness, so how dare you call yourself worthless when he says you are priceless. But see the best part about God, is that since God is ultimately for God, he’ll get glory out of you, whether you like it or not, because even temple ruins point to you an architect even if the temple is shot. And, all I am saying is that he is behind it all, so why do we insist on giving him no glory at all.
I mean he is the one that gave Van Gogh the imagination that changed the face of painting. Tell me who else allowed Mozart to start composing at age five, without formal training. He is the one that gave Beethoven the hands that played beauty on the keys, for Pete’s sake, he made Stevie Wonder, one of the best musicians of our time and he couldn’t even see.
And that’s why in the same way that our lives are borrowed time, this poem is borrowed lines, because the most ridiculous statement I could ever say is that this poem is mine, because we are not self sustaining. No, we are not self creating. Technically, nothing we do is original, we are just imitating and that’s not a dis, all I am trying to say is this, even our own creativity is nothing more than an outflow of his. But, hey, I’ve said enough; I’ll end with this.
You know that quote about giving credit, where credit is due. Well, if that’s true, I think it’s time we give God his rightful credit too, because he is the type of artist in the business in making all things new and here is the truth, he is not through with making a masterpiece of you.
I saw this and I just loved it so much!! I mean talk about accepting people completely for who they are, and not letting that keep you from loving and being with them! Can you imagine a world where this was not some inspiring clip, but rather the norm!
Looked down from a broken sky Traced out by the city lights My world from a mile high Best seat in the house tonight Hold on for the sudden stop Breathe in the familiar shock Of confusion and chaos Why have I never cared? Give me Your eyes so I can see Everything that I keep missing Give me Your love for humanity The ones that are far beyond my reach? Give me Your heart for the one's forgotten Give me Your eyes so I can see Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah See a girl and our eyes meet Does her best to smile at me To hide whats underneath Black suit and a bright red tie Too ashamed to tell his wife He's out of work, he's buying time Why have I never cared? Give me Your eyes so I can see Everything that I keep missing Give me Your love for humanity The ones that are far beyond my reach? Give me Your heart for the one's forgotten Give me Your eyes so I can see Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah A couple of million eyes just moving past me by I swear I never thought that I was wrong So give me a second chance To see the way You see the people all alone Give me Your eyes so I can see Everything that I keep missing Give me Your love for humanity The ones that are far beyond my reach? Give me Your heart for the one's forgotten Give me Your eyes so I can see Give me Your eyes so I can see Everything that I keep missing That I keep missing The ones that are far beyond my reach? Give me Your heart for the one's forgotten Give me Your eyes so I can see Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Touched down on the cold black tar All those people going somewhere Give me Your eyes for just one second Give me Your arms for the broken hearted Step out on a busy street Theres a man just to her right All those people going somewhere Give me Your eyes for just one second Give me Your arms for the broken hearted I've been there a million times Well, I want a second glance Give me Your eyes for just one second Give me Your arms for the broken hearted Give me Your eyes for just one second Give me Your arms for the broken hearted
As I seek a profession working with those with Special needs, and see my need for eyes to see in new light, I can't help but think how it's not just my profession that requires eyes like this. Everyone has needs, and someone needs to be able to see that. I mean could you imagine a world where people actually cared about others. Where people saw hurt and pain and sought to comfort rather than continuing to walk on. I think the story of the good Samaritan touches on this, but really, think about a world where even just the "religious" stopped and helped those hurting on the side of the road! I hope that working with children with special needs will help me develop this eye sight. I think they have this amazing and beautiful ability to affect the community and those around them because their
need is so obvious. Everyone has needs. Only unlike them, we can hide our need
for help better. So this is my prayer. That God would not only give me eyes to see but that as He cultivates the
ability to see, that I wouldn't limit my new vision to the work place, but
that I would let God use my eyes to help bring hope and love to the hurt
that most of the world fails to see, or just ignores.
What will become of those with disabilities in Heaven?
This question was posed to me early on in the semester, and it has been messing with my mind ever since. If a body is perfect in heaven, then either they will no longer have their disability in heaven, or we need a new term since this "disability" is clearly part of the beautiful masterpiece God created them to be!
I wish I had some philosophy friends, maybe they could give me some enlightenment, since this only leads me to ask all sorts of questions. Like what is the root or reason for people with disabilities? Is it part of the aftermath of the fallen world? Or would their still be people with disabilities even if Adam and Eve had never eaten the forbidden fruit? Oh how I wish I knew what God sees when He looks at them? And how can I begin to have eyes to see like Him?!
I find myself at a very curious and hopeful place. I am
hopeful because I know I am about to learn so much and I am excited to see the
work God will do in and through me as I embark on this journey to learn more
about others, and see how I can be used in their lives. But I am also very
curious. I recognize that I know so very little when it comes to understanding
others. So I start this journey at a very humble place as I seek to gain
understanding. I am so filled with stereotypes and judgments that I want to rid
myself of, and replace with open and genuine care. I want to be honest, I don’t
want to idealize, but I also don’t want to assume or offend, and so I am
excited to see all that I will learn, and the effect that will have on the way
I see. I hope I can be used, and while I hope I can help and at times “fix,” I
don’t want to be blind to beauty. I don’t want to try and change something that
shouldn’t be changed. So this is where I am at. A slightly smudged page that
needs to have some eraser work and then filled with beauty, like the beginning of
great literature or a masterpiece!
