Staying Open
Published on 25 Feb 2006 · Filed in Personal · 542 words (estimated 3 minutes to read)You might think, given my technological tendencies, that this post has something to do with industry standards, free/open source software, or similar. Not exactly. It’s about keeping an open mind—just not in the way that you might think.
I was driving to my church earlier tonight for a little get together we were having for the younger kids in our church. I help serve on the team of people that coordinate and conduct these events, and I have some younger kids that would be participating, so naturally I needed to be there. As I was driving, I was listening to Steven Curtis Chapman’s All Things New CD and the song “What Now” came on.
If you’ve never heard the song, the basic gist is that God can appear to us in many forms. In one instance, God is appearing as a little orphan girl; in another, as a homeless boy. In each of these cases, God is asking the question: “You wanted to find Me, so here I am. What now?”
Indeed, what now? How many times have we asked God to lead us in the direction He would have us to go, only for us to go the direction we wanted? How many times have we asked God to show us how we can show the love of Jesus to the world, only to fail Him at the first test? The song really reminded me of the need for me—for all Christians—to keep our eyes and our minds open to God. We need to stay open, open to the leading of the Lord, open to the possibilities that God has in store for us.
Easy to say, hard to do, I know. And later in the evening, the Lord put me to the test. As I was walking into the church after dropping my daughter off at home, a gentleman in an older pickup truck stops me in the parking lot. He claims to be new to the area, and says that his family is stranded with a broken down car. He needs money to get their car towed.
“Oh, Scott,” I hear you saying. “Surely you didn’t give him any money, did you? You know he’s using that money for drugs or alcohol!”
No, I don’t know that. What if that were us? What if we were the ones that were $15 short of being able to tow our cars home and get our family home safely? Wouldn’t you want someone to help you? The way I see it, if this gentleman feels the need to con people out of money through treachery and deceit, he’ll answer to the Lord for that. But if this man really did need some help and I don’t help him, I’ll answer to the Lord for not helping him. So I helped him, and I wished for God to bless him, and I’m going to trust the Lord to honor my faithfulness.
So, I urge you, if you are a Christian, to keep your mind open to the leading of the Lord. Stay open to opportunities where you can show the love of Jesus to the world, and keep in mind that those opportunities may not appear the way you expect them to appear.