Just Such A TimeSample

 A Time For Others

Perhaps the greatest burden of pain is that it forces us to look inward. There’s nothing like a difficult situation to make us see the world through the eyes of “me”. Conversely, there’s nothing like reaching out to others to take our eyes off ourselves and to reconnect with our God-given purpose and so find fulfillment. 

A few years ago I had the privilege of traveling to Africa to serve various groups of women and children in Kenya and Uganda. On one day I became incredibly overwhelmed when the brutal reality of life for a young girl in an African slum impacted me. As she sat on my knee, she was no longer just a sad story but a real person; a five-year-old little girl who had been violated.

Her “normal” broke me. Like an angry psalmist I took my fury to God. How could He allow such suffering and abuse? Why would He send me to Africa, only to be powerless and answerless in the face of pain?

I’m sure you can relate to being in the midst of situations where reality dawns and we realize we have no apparent way to resolve things. 

On this particular occasion a friend pointed out to me that whilst tragedy was indeed in our midst, it wasn’t an entirely hopeless situation. 

Feeling heartbroken can make us absorb more pain into ourselves. That’s what I had done. Somehow I had made it about me.

My friend pointed out that just when that little lady had most likely been wondering if all she had heard about God was true – wondering if He really did love her, and hadn’t forgotten her – along came someone who picked her up, cuddled her, and whispered that Jesus loved her, assuring her of the good plans for her life. 

Our calling and our purpose, whilst connected to us as individuals, is forever linked to other people. 

To truly find our purpose in life, we must connect to the Creator who shifts heaven and earth to be connected to His people. If we separate people from our purpose, we neglect to consider the God we serve.

Perhaps more poignantly, if we take people put of the purpose equation we deny ourselves the opportunity to bless Jesus Himself. It’s in serving others that we find ourselves closest to Jesus. If we want purpose, that’s a good place to be.