Take the Blanket off!
June 2, 2011I can remember when I was a little kid I shared a room with my older brother. So my sleep time was pretty stress free until my parents hooked me up with my own room. On the outside and in the daylight this was an awesome deal. I had my own room and so did Chris. But on the inside of me and when the lights went out it wasn’t that great of an idea. I would get scared when I heard sounds, saw shadows or started thinking about things I had scene on TV. And my only defense to these extremely scary situations was to pull the blanket over my head and think the bad guys couldn’t see me. The reality was there was nothing there and if there was the blanket was not any protection at all.
I still do the blanket thing today. I just do it in a different way. We live in a scary world. A world full of poverty, natural disasters, sickness, starvation and much more. A world that looks much better under our blanket. Because under my blanket I can control my little world. I can ignore all the “bad” stuff going on outside. I can live like those situations don’t exist. But what does God ask of us? In Micah 6:8 we are told, “No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires(God) of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” So how can we hide under our blankets? How can we hide in our own little world that is working just the way we want it to?
Ask yourself these questions today and everyday:
1. Am I doing what is right? In my life, in the life of my family, in my community, and in my world?
2. Do I love mercy? Does my heart break for those in need and what am I doing about it? It’s not enough to be moved inside with compassion and no action on the outside.
3. Am I humble? Do I see life as a gift from God? Do I understand that apart from Christ I can do nothing worth doing?
How do I see myself compared to others?
Honestly, this world will always have needs. Every time we take the blanket off our heads we will see the severity of this life. We may not be able to change the life of all the starving children in Africa, Haiti, or the United States. You may not be able to rebuild the city of Joplin, MO or the country of Japan. But what we can do is take the blanket off our heads, open our eyes to the needs and help one person at a time. Today, make a difference in the life of one person. Offer a smile, a meal, a hug, a prayer, pay a bill, buy their gas, send them clothes, donate money or whatever. But whatever it is, don’t pass up a chance to impact a life today. Take your blanket off your head and join the real world and lets see what we can do “one life at a time.”
