Having a heart for and caring for others—being our brother or sister’s keeper is a term that seems archaic in our fast pace digital age. We very rarely see others in the span of day. And as the world turns, we remain in our own little bubbles, associating with a few—family members and acquaintances. Seeing the sufferings and injustices of people on television news or surfing the internet are merely background noises as we attend to our daily rituals
So, it is with this backdrop that I share a personal encounter that I had a few weeks ago. Let me tell you—it has changed my entire world view of the sufferings of my fellow human beings.
I saw a person waving a sign saying, $5.99 Car Washes. I had passed by this place before, but today, I decided to get my car washed. As I came up to the cashier, I noticed she was a South or Central American. I proceeded to ask about the prices of a car wash as there were several different prices. I could not understand what she was saying as she was trying to explain them to me. Her English was not very good and I didn’t speak Spanish. I continued to question her, trying to understand the language barrier.
The owner, a Hispanic man whose English was much better came up to me and said, “Leave now; I don’t want any trouble—leave!” As I tried to explain, he said, “Leave! I will give you your money back—leave!” He reached in the cash register and handed me my money back. He didn’t want to hear as I tried to explain what had happened. He then said, “I will wash your car, but don’t come back here again!” He then hosed my car down and sent it through the car wash.
As I came out from the car wash machine, I had to find a place to park because my heart was so heavy. I began to just weep before the Lord! You see, throughout that whole encounter, I was “seeing” through the eyes of Jesus. Holy Spirit began to touch my heart from the start of that interaction, revealing what was really going on.
There was pure terror in the heart of that man! (Normally, I would have been very angry with him. I might even have demanded that he apologize for that tone of voice.) But, thank the Lord—not this time! I sat in my car for some time—I felt his fear and it broke my heart! I saw that not only, did he employ that young girl, but there were also others who may have been undocumented.
As I continued to sit there, Holy Spirit began to enlighten my spiritual eyes. I felt in my spirit the trauma of people over this country who were stricken with fear of being sent back to their countries of origin. Now, I don’t believe we can have open borders—the times are too perilous, but I do believe that we, as a country, must see the humanity in people and treat them with compassion.
The money given back to me by the owner of the car wash was still in my hand. I knew that I had to go back, not just to give him the money, but hopefully assure him that I did not come there to cause trouble. So, I got out of my car and walked back to the car wash. I approached the man and asked him to please take the money—it was his. He seemed to have calmed down and said to me, “No you bring it the next time you come.” I shared with him that I was just trying to understand what his employee was saying. He said, “I love you”; gave me a hug and then said, “I’ll see you next time.”
Let me tell you, my friends; that whole thing was a divine encounter that has changed forever the way I “see” people. I “see” the sufferings of people like I have never seen them before. Jesus “saw” the people—his lost sheep. I am, in no way, comparing myself to Jesus, but I now have a deeper revelation and heightened sense of compassion for suffering people.
How many times do people pass by the homeless and pretend that they don’t see them or look the other way (myself included)? Isn’t that what the Levite and priest did when they passed by the wounded man in Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan? They didn’t “see” him, but the Samaritan “saw” the wounded man.
The Bible explains what “seeing in the spirit “ is in Ephesians 1:18-19. It states, “I pray also that the eyes of your (our) heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” “Seeing in the spirit “ is experiencing the opening of the eyes of the heart.
When the eyes of your heart is opened, you are able “to know the hope to which he has called you. . .”
Are the eyes of your hearts open, my friends? I do believe that when you begin to “see with spiritual eyes” the Word will become revelatory and your destiny will become more clear. You will “know the hope to which he has called you. . .” (Ephesians 1:18) The opening of your spiritual eyes will also heighten the depth of compassion and love you have for others, my friends.
Be blessed.
Spiritual References:
Matthew 6:22 The eyes of your spirit allow revelation-light to enter into your being. If your heart is unclouded, the light floods in!
Matthew 13: 14-16 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn , and I would heal them. But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.
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