Painful Photos

As I looked at this list of photos, I couldn't help but notice the pain. The sadness. The hurt.

These are the most powerful photos?

It breaks my heart to see the pain of mankind. Are all of these real? I really don't know. But I do know this: Jesus had compassion.

These people are hurting. They are searching for something that they're not going to find in any of these pictures. They are searching for answers. The praying men won't find it in Allah. The girl won't find true peace in a divorce from her aged husband. Bringing a husband back won't make everything ok. Revenge won't satisfy. But we know Someone that will.

Jesus.

That name is the answer. The complete answer.We just need Jesus. You need Jesus. They need Jesus. We have to tell them. We have to be that light. We have to show them the compassion that they've never seen. We can't all go to the mission field right now, but that's ok. Because there are people right around you who need the compassion of Jesus. Find them. Tell them. Tell them by your life.

Matthew 9:36 - But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. 

Hidden

Hidden.

Hidden behind a mask.

Hidden behind a mask that only shows a smile.

Hidden behind a mask that only shows a smile but covers the hurting heart.

Stop. Take a look around. Look past the smiles. Look past the love of actors and actresses. Look past the obsession with boys bands and other popular artists. Look past the perfect boyfriend/girlfriend relationship. Look past the quiet personality. Look past whatever is really there.

I think you will be shocked.

Christians are good at hiding things. We're expected to have a perfect life. Everything is beautiful. After all, we have the answer. Jesus. He is what makes someone truly happy. But how many people do you know that happiness is just their cover for hurting? The smile smothers the sorrow. And underneath, the sorrow only builds...until one day they can't find a way out.

So they turn to everything. Everything but Christ. They go to friends. They go to girls or guys. They go to a busy schedule. They go to sleep. They go to drinking. They go to drug addictions. They go to sexual sin. They go to a false happiness. They go to whatever fills the void.

Today, my challenge is simple. Just look at the people around you. We often get so caught up in our own problems that we don't see behind that girl's smile. She's laughing with her friends, but her heart is lonely; she longs for something more. Look beyond that guy's joke with his friends. He just wants to be accepted by someone. Look past the face value.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering the sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. - Luke 4:18

A Teacher's Heart

For the last week and a half, I have had the great privilege to work alongside my first grade teacher in the classroom. I got the opportunity to see first hand why teaching is so important.

Yes, the education is important, but there's something even more pressing in a Christian school education. It's Christ's love.

Love is shown in many different ways in the classroom. It's shown by taking time to listen to a child's story even though he might raise his hand in the middle of the lesson. It's shown by correcting a student when she talks back. It's shown by getting a student's attention to make sure he is learning what he should be. It's shown by doing the best you can to understand a child's needs even when it may be difficult.

Most of you can probably think of a bad teacher. One who wasn't prepared. One who didn't care what you did. One who was too overbearing. But you can probably think of your favorite teacher too. It was probably someone who noticed you and loved you just for being you. You may not have realized what they were doing when you were in the class, but you know it now.

After this week, I can see what teaching is really all about because of my teacher's example. Teaching isn't necessarily about giving children the best education that they can in the classroom (even though this is what they are getting in this setting and this will be a goal for me personally). It's about showing my student's the love of Christ, that it will mold them and shape them into who they can and ought to be.