Long story short: He is so, so good.
Long story long:
Look closely or you’ll miss it.
We were dressed in our best on our drive to a beautiful cathedral for this evenings church service. We passed through the colorful homes in our gated neighborhood. We passed by the local mall filled with shoppers, the streets where the drug dealers roam and the tripped out addicts beg for more, the business men and women getting in their fancy cars to head home to their families, the school kids walking home from class, the adults begging for money, the children digging through the trash for their next meal. Come one, come all, we see them on our 45 minute drive through Kingston.
Psalm 34 “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth…”
I know what you’re thinking, I’ve thought it too. “How am I expected to praise Him, when there’s brokenness and tragedy on every corner?” Here’s what the last 9 months have taught me:
The other day is when it hit me. My Jamaican friend began telling me about how he was at the store buying his lunch for the day. In the corner of his eye he saw a “madman” digging through the trash for his next meal. My friend told me how he thanked God in that moment for his right mind, and for the blessings that he doesn’t feel the need to dig through trash for a meal.
I waited. I waited for the next part of my friends story. I waited for more. It didn’t come. That was the end of my friends story. His gratitude was the point of the story. If you could call it that.
Now, hear me. There’s grace for my friend. I’ve been there too. I’ve taken a blind eye more times than I can count. We’ve all been there. But how can we change?
His story reminds me of the story Jesus tells us in Luke 18:
“”Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
Jesus said, “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”” Luke? ?18:10-14? ?
Humility. I want God to break my heart for what breaks His. Does a man digging through a dumpster for his meal break God’s heart? Yeah.
So what’s our next move? What does proper gratitude look like?
DO something. He sure didn’t take my brokenness lightly when He came to earth to bring freedom to all of creation through the cross.
GIVE. Ask God how to meet the practical needs. Every human being deserves to taste His goodness. Wherever they are. He provides to us all in many ways, but often we are the hands and feet to give of what He’s already given us.
He meets us at our rock bottoms, He’s not ashamed of our lowly states and brokenness. So why can’t we take on that perspective for each other?
I like to think it’s His favorite form of worship.
““The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:40
He is so, so good. So again I say,
“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalm 34:1-2
