Galatians 5:4-6
I suspect you would never intend this, but this is what happens. When you attempt to live by your own religious plans and projects, you are cut off from Christ, you fall out of grace. Meanwhile we expectantly wait for a satisfying relationship with the Spirit. For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
In December 17, 2013, 61-year-old Cecil Williams fainted and fell onto the rail bed of an oncoming subway train in Harlem. In a harrowing-yet-miraculous tale, onlookers screamed for Williams to duck down into the trough between the rails as the train barreled down upon him. William’s service dog Orlando – an 11-year-old black lab – tried to keep Williams backed away from the edge of the subway platform. But when Williams passed out and fell into the train bed, Orlando jumped down beside his owner and hunkered with him. At the last minute, both ducked their heads - and were spared as the train literally passed over them.
What makes this story more compelling is that Cecil Williams’ insurance was not going to continue to pay for Orlando’s services, so the dog was scheduled to be placed up for adoption. The news of this story spread quickly, and offers poured in to fund not only Orlando’s stay with his master… but the gift of a new service dog, Godiva - a yellow lab who has just “graduated” from a training program run by “Guiding Eyes for the Blind.
Williams suffered only minor scrapes and bruises…Orlando was virtually unscathed in the accident. From his hospital bed, Williams said, “I feel that God, the powers that be, have something in store for me. They didn’t take me away this time. I’m here for a reason.” Williams says Orlando can now learn to put his feet up and let Godiva do the work! He added… “The spirit of good will — it exists,” he said. “In the world you see a lot of negative things, but I try to focus on the positive.”
Here’s the thing… there are thousands of “Cecil Williamses” in the world…dozens in our own back yard. Their stories are not necessarily as dramatic… they may not be in need of a service dog or something else as drastic. But they do need us. Cecil Williams was not extraordinary… and had he not fallen into the path of that oncoming Manhattan subway train, few would have given him and Orlando a second look. Sadly, he would have been one more blind man with a “seeing-eye dog”…and a black man at that. The color of his skin alone would have been reason for several in many parts of our country to ignore him or look the other way.
So the question becomes…are we seeing the people in our midst as God sees them? Or do we view them with the eyes of “conscientious religion”? In other words, are we only kind and considerate to those who are “like us” in some way? Must they attend our church…share our faith…have the same skin color…or be of political leaning or sexual orientation as we are? Do we only notice and attend to those who are in our socio-economic class? Do we assume that those who are “better off” can manage for themselves – and those who are not as fortunate are getting their “just desserts” in some way?
The real question is, “Are we snobs who are hiding behind the label of ‘Christians’?” And in doing so, have we fallen out of grace with Christ Jesus? I don’t mean to imply that we have lost our salvation – or the promise of eternity in heaven. But there is so much more to the life of a Christian. I do believe that our attitudes and behaviors on this earth can create a chasm between us and God…and cause Him to withhold – or block - a certain amount of grace, mercy and blessings in our lives. Think of it as the parent who takes a child’s favorite toys or the car keys for a time – or says, “No ice cream today because you didn’t eat all of your dinner.” The child knows that he/she is still loved - and that all basic needs are met. The parents still care deeply for that child and wish no harm to come to him/her. But the child also understands that added “perks” are doled out in direct proportion to a certain set of behaviors.
We are called to love others - and to offer the compassion of Christ to them. We are not called to mold them into OUR image…or to insist that they conform to our demands first. We are to love them where they are…as they are…and to leave the rest up to God Almighty. We are to operate in faith expressed by love…not just because this brings a “satisfying relationship with the Spirit” – and His grace and blessings in our own lives. We are to do this because it extends these same gifts and miracles to others. And that’s what really matters.
©2014 Debbie Robus
Read more about Cecil Williams and Orlando at: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/blind-new-yorker-survived-fall-subway-tracks-guide-dog-gifted-new-service-dog-article-1.1593292
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