Last Sunday I preached in one of my associational churches on the text Luke 7:36-50. The episode involves Jesus accepting an invitation to eat at the home of a Pharisee, Simon by name. During the course of the meal, a woman of the streets, a "sinner", comes into the home and proceeds to show Jesus a lot more honor than his host has done.
Jesus asks Simon one of those rhetorical questions that are so life-shaking, "Do you see this woman?" The ability to see the obvious is not always strong in some of us. We have to be reminded of what is right in front of us. Our perceptions of reality will always be shaped by our priorities, our prejudices, our worries, and our worldview. I am not different from Simon. There are many times when I have a difficult time "seeing".
One of the things I am learning as a DoM is to "see" the church fields served by each of the pastors with whom I work. Every church field just like every congregation is different. Each pastor faces a unique set of circumstances. He may have problems and opportunities that others have faced, but he is not like others. He brings his own unique set of gifts and faults into the mix.
Compassion is born out of seeing the church field as the pastor sees it. Encouragement is born out of the need to stand by the pastor while he also comes to see his field as God sees it. Patience is a fundamental part of seeing the pastor and seeing the field as well as seeing yourself.
Thankfully God is patient with us as we come to have our eyes opened so that we can encourage that pastor in the proper way. We will have compassion as we see him struggle with frustrations and anxieties. We will have patience as we remember it is not all up to us, either one of us, that God expects us to do what we can do, not what we cannot.
There is no helping others or walking with others until we "see" them. That takes the work of the Holy Spirit, and we must be brave enough to open ourselves to that. That can be scary.
