We live in a very crowded city that moves at a very quick pace. The Ferry gets so full we wonder if it might tip over. The Express Bus is often so crowded there seems as if there are as many standing as sitting. The Subway sometimes resembles a row of sardine cans with strap hangers packed in from end to end. For drivers, the Expressway often looks like more of a parking lot than a freeway. All this as we hustle and bustle from place to place in this thing we call the commute.
This overcrowding combined with the frantic pace has led to another interesting phenomenon. Many of us have developed an amazing eye condition. We are able to look right at people and not ever really see them. The technical term for this is “the glazed over look” or "Urban Eyes".
I have found myself sitting on a train or bus and looking straight ahead with all my thoughts to myself, really not seeing anyone. This eye condition is certainly helpful as a self-protection device. If we ever actually looked at someone we might get a “Are you looking at me?” from the subject of our gaze. That would of course be extremely awkward not to mention somewhat dangerous.
In the last few days for some reason I have been challenged regarding my eye condition. I have been reminded of the example of Jesus when confronted with the needy multitudes. It is said of him that “…When He saw the multitudes; He was moved with compassion….” (Matthew 9:36). I also remember His encounter with the rich young ruler. There it is said of Lord that “……Jesus, looking at him, loved him…” (Mark 10:21).
One of the more interesting narratives in the New Testament involves Jesus, the woman at the well and the disciples near the Samaritan city of Sychar. As the disciples went to town to find food, Jesus engaged the Samaritan woman in conversation about her soul. When the disciples came back it was apparent they had told no one in the town about Jesus. They had been too worried about their growling stomachs to notice anyone. They suffered from an eye condition very similar to mine.
Jesus confronts the disciples about there food obsessions. Then, with the whole town making its way to him because of the witness of the recently departed Samaritan woman, He gives his disciples a very poignant command. He says, referring to the oncoming crowd, “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest. (John 4:35)
The disciples needed to lift up their eyes and see the Samaritans as Jesus did. I need to lift up my eyes and see the people in our city as Jesus does. I suspect you may have the same need as the disciples and I have. The words that follow are to a song that would make a powerful prayer for all of us as I close this article. The song writer prays:
“Let me see this world, dear Lord, As though I were looking through Your eyes.
A world of men who don’t want You Lord, But a world for which You died.
Let me kneel with You in the garden, Blur my eyes with tears of agony;
For if once I could see this world the way You see, I just know I’d serve You more faithfully.
Let me see this world, dear Lord, Through Your eyes when men mock Your Holy Name.
When they beat You and spat upon You, Lord, Let me love them as You loved them just the same.
Let me stand high above my petty problems, And grieve for men, hell bound eternally;
For if once I could see this world the way You see, I just know I’d serve You more faithfully.” (Words and music by Mike Otto, Copyright 1979)
An Urban Christian
Dave Watson
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