This month in Colombia I’ve been reading through the book of Matthew, and the one thing I’ve noticed is that time after time after time, others either came to Jesus or were brought to Jesus. In a funny way, Jesus never sought them out. He just saw all of these opportunities presenting themselves and He took them. In essence, Jesus was just incredibly open-eyed and interruptible.
Let me show you just a couple of examples of this:
“When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.” Matthew 8:1-3 NIV
“When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help.” Matthew 8:5 NIV
“Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, ‘Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.’” Matthew 9:1-2 NIV
“While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.”” Matthew 9:18 NIV
“Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak.” Matthew 9:20 NIV
“As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”” Matthew 9:27 NIV
So many times Jesus was just going about His business, going from point A to point B, when an opportunity presented itself to Him. And each time, rather than making His end destination the most important thing, He chose to see the person in front of Him as the most important.
As I read this I realized just how interruptible Jesus was. He barely went looking for people to serve because He simply allowed the people to come to Him. I began to ask Holy Spirit to open my eyes to the MULTITUDE of opportunities He had for me each day. I wanted to see things just like Jesus did and respond just like Jesus did.
Later that day I ubered downtown to see some friends from another team. At sunset I realized that I was supposed to be home before dark and started walking towards a cafe to get wifi and book an Uber home.
As I walked by a KFC and bent down to tie my shoe, a little girl around 5 years old and her brother, around 8, came directly up to me and started speaking to me in Spanish. She said something along the lines of “can you get me KFC to eat?” And instead of brushing them off and saying no, I recognized this as an opportunity presenting itself, so I took it!
I brought them in, we ordered dinner, and sat down. I noticed that they kept looking out the window to a woman around 30 years old. I asked them who she was and they told me it was their mom! So, we went outside to get her, ordered some more food, and talked together. She told me that she and her kids WALKED for EIGHT DAYS from Venezuela to Colombia to try to escape the economic crisis. They had just arrived in Medellín two weeks beforehand and were currently living in the streets selling small snacks and gum to make a living for themselves.
My heart broke for this family who lived such a different life in Venezuela. No way did this sweet mother ever imagine she would have to trek to another country and live on its streets with her five and eight year old. The two of us spoke and cried and prayed together that God would provide housing and food for her. After I prayed she quickly gave thanks to God saying “He did provide, my kids have food to eat tonight”. I sat with tears streaming down my face in the realization that God actually used me to be an answered prayer for this sweet family that night.
As I was attempting to wipe my tears and get myself together, one of the boys friends, around the same age came up to him. He graciously gave him his drink and started cutting his food in half to share with him. I looked outside and saw that this second boy’s family – his mother, grandmother, and little brother and sister – were sitting outside looking in. The boys took my hands and we went outside to invite them in.
We ordered some more food and all sat down together. They had just arrived in Medellín two months ago after attempting to make it to Peru and Ecuador and being denied. The kids’ father has left and these sweet women were left to take care of their kids alone, trying to make life on the streets as fun and wondrous as they could. The grandmother told me that meeting people like me was one of the ways they did that.
The nine of us sat and shared a meal like friends as the kids mowed down and the women patiently bared with my broken Spanish. Eventually, the sun had set and I realized that it was probably time for me to head back. I said goodbye and jumped in my Uber home.
The whole drive home I just couldn’t help but think “GOD! You literally just put that opportunity directly in front of my face! What the heck wow!!” I had asked Him to open my eyes and He did. I asked Him to help me respond like Him and I got to.
My friends, just like opportunities presented themselves to Jesus, and to me, they do to you every single day. Ask God to help you see them. It’ll be beautiful.
I also want to take a moment to thank each of you who support me through prayer. It’s SO felt, and I honestly believe it’s the reason I’m able to do whatever I can here. If you’ve supported me financially, wow, thank you. You guys are the reason I’m here. You guys are the reason I get to take out two families for dinner. I literally couldn’t do it without you, so thank you for your genuine hearts of generosity. It is a massive catalyst of Love and I feel so honoured that you’ve entrusted it to me.
