Do They Know?

As we were going to church yesterday, we drove by a golf course that was packed full of cheerful golfers about to begin their game. At that moment, Dylan, my eight-year-old surprised me with a question: “do they know about Palm Sunday?”

I pondered the question for a minute, and then said: “probably not…unfortunately. That is why we are told by God to tell people about Jesus and about His love.” 

We arrived at church, went to Sunday school, Service and then lunch. With all the activities, I didn’t think about the golfers or Dylan’s question any more…until now.

The scene replays in my mind: my young son attentively looking out the window of our car, seeing all the people gearing up to enjoy a beautiful Sunday morning on the golf course…to then wonder… “do they know about Palm Sunday?”

Children always see things through a different glass…one that is not distorted by the world. I have to admit that I did think to myself that the golfers should be in church rather than at the golf course…but mine were not the most compassionate thoughts. I thought about it with an attitude of disdain for them. It was the classic, “holier than thou” perspective. Whereas Dylan was genuinely worried about them, about the implications that not going to church on a Sunday, especially on Palm Sunday may have on the state of their souls.

Today, I am challenged by my lack of concern. Mainly also because the main point discussed at Sunday school yesterday was paying attention that we see people as having souls…as spiritual beings, not just as props on our way. How quickly I forget…

I walk around this earth forgetting that all those I meet on my way are living vessels that contain the very essence of God. Therefore, I rarely concern myself with the potential lost state of their souls. I see them as objects that I pass by. I see them as part of the material world with whom I may, perhaps, never interact. 

No wonder I am a terrible ambassador for Christ. The great commission of making disciples is lost in me. I have always rationalized my lack of ability to evangelize by saying that I do not have what it takes or that I am way too self-conscious to put myself out there, exposed to rejection and ridicule. Today, I think, however, that most of my unwillingness to tell others about Christ derives from my lack of attention. I do not see others as spiritual beings with an eternal soul which may be lost to an eternity without God. And I don’t see myself as an instrument that God can use to reach them. My pride and self-image trump any faint desire I may have to put myself in God’s hands and joyfully allow Him to do His will through me. 

I pray this Holy week that my heart can be softened to the needs of others. That the Lord, who sees it all, may give me His eyes, so I can see too. That I may have a mind like my son’s, the mind of a child, to recognize the soul in those I pass by.

Linking with: Monday Musings