Helping us see

Martin Luther King in his ‘I have a Dream Speech’ said: ‘I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character’.

How difficult is that for many of us to accept, or more so, for us to live that way?

Every month for the CCV Men - Breakfast Meeting I try to remember to ask God to bring the men that He wants to attend and I also ask Him to bring the words that He wants spoken.

I also try to remember to ask Him on the way to church on Sunday morning to bring the men to me or lead me to the men he wants me to talk with.

There was a time when I was younger that I would be concerned about talking with people due to their age, background, color, ethnicity, religious affiliation, sexual preference or any other distinction that wasn’t in agreement with my beliefs. And because of this I would avoid talking with or being seen with any of these people.

Today I did remember to ask God about the men He wanted me to talk with at Church. I was a little more relaxed after church and tried to be more accessible by standing in an area for a little longer than I normally would. My normal habit is to walk around and to search out some of the man I know.

Near the coffee cart, I saw a man I had not seen in awhile and he passed on greetings to me from a man who had attended our church but had moved out of the area some time ago. We talked about cars, gas prices, holiday activities and some other things.

After talking with him for awhile and trying to get to know him better he and his friend left and another man came up to me. This man, who was at the last Breakfast meeting, and I have talked on occasion for several years but I don’t think we developed any closeness.

After talking with the second man he told me things were ok but he missed his family who lived out of state and I sensed there were some other things going on in his life. He reached to hug me as we were saying our goodbyes and I hugged him in return. I then felt a prompting to say to him that he seemed somewhat stressed and I asked if there was anything I could pray for.

He then shared some struggles he was going through. When we completed our discussion he again reached to hug me and we did and this time he told me he loved me.

I was very appreciative that he was comfortable enough to share his struggles and his emotions with me as well as his love. This was the love of Christ.

God has brought me a long way and has helped me to be able to get beyond many things that were formerly roadblocks and prejudices. I have asked God to show me what He wants me to see and I believe He is doing that.

These two men belong to a different race than I do and they felt comfortable talking with me. One felt comfortable enough to hug me. I am thankful to God for this and I hope that I am becoming more of the person that God wants me to be.

By this occurrence and others I think that God wants me to see the hearts of people and not the things that make us different.