The boy

On our way back from Siem Reap today, we stopped mid-trip for a rest. The facility we stopped at was very nice and provided some great shade from the mid-day heat. You can see the front of the place in this pic (right). Take a closer look at the picture. Can you see something different? What you may have missed is the little boy in the left corner. He’s begging for money but he’s not speaking. He is just sitting there in silence with a basket. If You’re wondering why he isn’t talking, it’s because He’s blind. Getting close to him revealed that it he was born without any eyes.

My heart was arrested by this young boy. I watched a tour bus full of people get out, walk by him and act as if he was not even there. He sat quietly on his mat and waited for some money. Each person walked in and walked out, never acknowledging his presence.

As I watched, I found myself thinking about the lame begger Peter and John encountered as they entered the temple through the gate called beautiful, written about in Acts 3. The man was lame since birth and did not seem to look anyone in the eye (based on Peter’s comment in verse 4). Perhaps he saw himself as insignificant. I’m willing to bet society saw him that way so they probably ignored him. Though he and others may have seen him as worthless, Peter and John looked at him through a different lens; through the lens of Christ. To them, he was a lost sheep in need of the one true shepherd. As a result of their act of faith, they introduced this man to the great physician and he was healed.

The story in Acts is a great story of compassion and obedience. In the midst of this situation, I found myself questioning my own level of compassion for others. I was deeply impacted by the sight of this boy, but to what degree? Was I willing to give him some money? Of course. After all, giving money is pretty easy...especially when the average donation for a Cambodian begger is about 100 riel ($.20 cents). If I was feeling generous, I could even have given him a full dollar.

But what about his spiritual condition? I may have enough compassion to give him money, but do I have enough to introduce him to the great physician...in the midst of a crowd? What if God prompted me to pray for this boy to be healed? Would I do it or would I ignore the prompting, dismissing it as a figment of my imagination?

If the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in each of us, why is it that we struggle, at times, with proclaiming his truth to others? Do we pray and believe that our great physician can still do the miraculous? If we do, why is it no longer common? Have we limited God by our lack of faith? This experience today has prompted so many questions in me. If I try to look at Christianity from the outside, it does seem slightly ironic that Christians are willing to trust God for salvation and eternal life yet some don’t believe He desires nor is willing to heal in practical ways any longer.

I didn’t write this post to cause tension, I’m just finding myself being stretched to believe and walk out the fullness of God in my life. I think it all comes down to faith. Not cognitive faith, but life-giving, fruit-bearing faith. It’s the kind of faith that is not based on what we believe, think or say; it becomes reality based on what we do. Remember that old addage "Actions speak louder than words?"

Can I say with certainty that God would have healed this boy? Of course not. For me, that's not the point...though I know that Jesus challenged us to love our neighbor as we love ourself. If that's our charge, what should that look like in the case of this blind boy.

I keep thinking of the words of Samuel..."To obey is better than to sacrifce." I'm reminded how God does not need us to accomplish His will, He choses to use us. That's a humble truth for me to grasp. For Him to use us, though, we need to to be available and ready to serve...whatever the task. It forces me to wonder if my reluctance to obey, at times, (especially when things don't makes sense) plays a greater part in the end result then I'm willing to admit.