A Real Shiner

Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you  well.” And instantly the woman was made well.
Matthew 9:22

How often do you run across someone with a black eye?  I don’t mean just a regular black eye; I’m talkin’ about a real doozy of a shiner? You might see lots of them if you work in a gym that trains boxers, but in my world, not so much.  During the past week, I came across two of the biggest black eyes I’ve ever seen.  To make the situation even more curious, one of the black eyes was sported on the sweet face of one of my students and the other on the lovely face of a Catholic Nun I met at a conference on Friday.  Oddly
enough, both black eyes came from accidently bumping into a vehicle. When something that peculiar happens twice in the same week, it can mean only two things…God’s got a message and it’s gotta be a blog post!

If you’ve ever run into someone with a black eye, you just can’t seem to focus on anything but that. It just sort of consumes your vision, and the harder you try not to stare at it, the more captivating it becomes.  You have a dozen questions running through your mind, most of which you don’t ask, but your mind just stays fixed on the subject.  That black eye takes on a bit of power all its own. I got to wondering what the world would be like if our Christian behavior attracted the attention of others like a big black eye?  What if our words and actions made others as curious as the circumstances that resulted in a doozy of a shiner?  What if our Christian attitude was so contagious it was immediately noticed like a black eye?  What if our faith was so real and present that it opened the flood gates to compassionate, gentle conversation and storytelling like a black eye on the face of someone we care about?

 All too often, we see our faith as a very private matter and we miss opportunities to share the love of Christ because we don’t want to offend
or be in an uncomfortable situation.  I’m not sure that’s why Jesus worked so hard during the three years of His public ministry.  He lived and died so we could spread His Good News!  For whatever reason, in regards to our faith, we sometimes smear on the cover makeup and try to hide our faith like we sometimes try to cover up a black eye.  I’m going to suggest a different way to think of it…instead of keeping our faith quiet because we don’t want to put ourselves in an uncomfortable spot;  letting a little of God’s love squeak out might save someone else from being in an uncomfortable spot. Maybe it’s not about you at all…maybe it’s about the impact your faith could have on a lost or hurting soul.  Perhaps we need to try to wear our faith as visibly as a black eye.

 A Seed to Plant:  Think about one or two things you can do this week to make your faith stand out like a black eye!  It can be as subtle as Christian jewelry or as outward as inviting someone to pray together or join you at church. Go ahead…let your faith be noticed!

Blessings on your day!