Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. I met with the Author and Perfecter of my Faith looking out at gray skies again but after my Time with Him, the day looks much brighter in my Heart. More rain is on the way and the colors are muted, but nature doesn’t miss a beat rain, snow, or shine. The birds are still singing their hearts out and the deer are still wandering around looking for nourishment. Usually, the deer take shelter from the storms in a place just across from the front porch. It’s a small patch of land that goes untouched. Countless people have suggested that I clean up “the mess” where the deer bed down but all it takes to change the mind is just one glance of the deer taking shelter from a storm there or watching a newborn fawn all wet and wobbly as it takes its first few steps, and any idea of clearing the “mess” goes out the window. What we see with the eyes LOOKS like a mess sometimes but nothing is what it appears to be on the surface. There is ALWAYS beauty to be found behind the mess in Life IF we look at Life through the eyes of God. Isn’t that the way you see it too?

Changing my way of looking at the kind of mess that provides shelter for the deer is one thing, changing the way we look at other things in life that aren’t so pleasing to the eye is an entirely different story. It can be so easy to look at someone with tattered, dirty clothes and turn away in disgust. It can be so easy to have thoughts about how they should get up, get a job, and clean themselves up without ever considering their true circumstances or the damage they’ve incurred through the storm. But I serve a God that ALWAYS looks beyond the mess and HE sees the beauty in everyone! Without a refuge from the storm, survival isn’t easy for the tattered and torn, the broken and the lost. Some need practical help but they ALL need Jesus Christ…and that’s where I come in! It’s only when I (choose to) look at others with my Heart instead of just seeing them with my eyes that I embrace the Truth – the Living God loves the tattered and torn just as much as He loves me and He wants good things for them too. Changing my way of looking at them puts a whole new perspective on life. Instead of thoughts of wanting to clean up the brush, I focus on the Shelter from the Storm instead. This is the key to Compassion.

We’re surrounded by the tattered and torn…suffering souls physically, financially, mentally, and spiritually and there’s never been a better time to extend Compassion or to share the Truth. It isn’t nearly enough to say “I feel sorry for them” or “I pray for them” and it isn’t acceptable to the Living God that we leave their troubles for someone else to take care of…or not. Back in the “old days” the Church took care of so many of the needs and it (the Church) was the first to step up with Compassion. Today the Church mostly relies on the government to do its part and they miss the opportunity to reflect the Compassion of Christ while they’re at it. It all comes down to looking at the tattered and torn with a Heart like Christ and not just with the eyes. It’s when we look at others with the Heart that we’re Compelled to move from sympathetic words into Action. Jesus said, “Whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine you did for me.” Walking away from the poor, the dirty, the broken, the lost, or even the “crazy” isn’t an option if we are determined to Serve the Lord with Honor. Who did He ever pass by? Who did He refuse to feed? Whatever we do for them, we do FOR HIM. I feel sorry for the Church when it passes the buck because it no longer believes that’s the role of the Church. After all, when it comes to the tattered and torn, it isn’t as much about sustenance as it is about Salvation.

This new day looks a little muted on the outside…and it might just look like that all day long…but there’s NOTHING muted about my Heart or the way I’ll be looking at the world. The Great “I AM” picked me up out of the messy brush years ago. He brushed me off, cleaned me up, and Prepared me for His Purpose! If He can do that for me, He WILL do that for anybody who turns to Him.

I’m looking at this new day with my Heart and not just my eyes, and instead of running from the tattered and torn, the broken and the lost, I’ll be looking for opportunities to Serve them by doing whatever I can do in His Name. I’ll refrain from judgment because that’s not mine, and I’ll do whatever I can to bring comfort.., but more than that I’ll look at each encounter as an Ordained Moment so I’ll be sure to Introduce them to my God. Every opportunity I have to Serve is a chance to Share the Truth! After all, whatever I do FOR them, I’m really doing FOR HIM.

How about you?