The Invisible Man

I saw him as I was entering the mall.
He was pushing a cleaning cart.
Spray bottles hung from the sides.
A trash bag was neatly tucked in the front for any debris he might see on the floor.

I thought he looked familiar.
His back was to me so I could not be sure.
He walked away to do another job in another place.
I walked on to do what I came in to do.

I finished my errand about twenty minutes later.
I had to walk out to my car in the parking garage.
I exited the same way I had come into the mall.
The cleaning cart that had left twenty minutes before was now back again.

The man I saw was now washing the windows on all of the doors.
I watched as people put their hands against the glass he had just cleaned.
I know that hand prints are inevitable.
However, many people walked by as if he was invisible.

He wiped the door he had just cleaned.
The hand prints were gone for the time being.
I thought it must be like trying to put the ocean in a bucket.
There was futility in the task.

Now that I was closer, I was not sure if it was the person I thought it was before.
His back was still facing me.
I walked out the door, making sure I pushed the handle and not the clean glass.
The windows look so clean, I said as I passed him.

When I got outside, I realized that it was indeed the person I recognized from years before.
I turned back towards him.
Don’t I know you? I said absolutely certain that it was the same person.
Didn’t you used to work at the supermarket? I asked.

Aren’t you the lady with all the kids? He asked, remembering.
Yes, I am, I answered.
I remember because you used to bring them all with you to the grocery store, he said.
I did; you have a good memory, I added surprised that he remembered so well.

When did you leave the supermarket? I asked him trying to count back the years in my mind.
He told me his work history since I last saw him.
He had done a lot of the same type of work.
He admitted that he left some places because there was not enough work.

I worked at this one place and all they wanted me to do was move the carts, he said.
It’s not that I mind that, but some days it was so hot and some days it was so cold, he told me.
I looked at his face and noticed the gray that I had not seen years before.
I figured that he was older than me; manual work was beginning to be a problem for him.

He was always a hard worker.
He always did what was expected of him.
He was quiet but kind.
He was a tall, gentle giant.

Now, all these years alter, he is still the same.
What bothered me was that he was invisible.
As I stood there and talked to him, people kept passing us.
Every person pushed the doors by the glass and not the handles.

Hand prints were everywhere.
His rag and his spray bottle was in his hand.
This conversation down memory lane was a bit of a respite.
This conversation showed him that he was important.

Countless times he bagged my groceries.
Countless times he pushed my second shopping cart to the car.
Countless times he brought both of my shopping carts back to the front of the store.
Countless times he waved to my children.

And he remembered.
And he was not invisible to me.
And he was still a hard worker.
And he still never complained.

My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in.  If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,”  have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?  But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?  Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong? If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.  But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. (James 2:1-10)

Favoritism makes some people visible and others invisible.
That should not be.
God has a special heart for those who are poor in the eyes of the world.
God takes special care over those the world does not see.

There is no one invisible to God.
The most menial task is valued in God’s sight when it is done for Him.
It is pleasing to God when a task is done with our whole heart and without pretense.
That is the kind of thing that delights the heart of God.

We ended our conversation as I walked to my car.
As I pulled out of my parking space, I saw him.
He was spraying the glass door.
He was wiping the hand prints away.

He saw me as I was ready to drive past the door.
He waved his white rag in the air as I drove by.
A shopper interrupted his wave as she pushed the glass door with both hands.
He had his spray bottle ready.

2 responses to “The Invisible Man”

1. Isn’t it wonderful to know that no one is invisible to God! And He looks at the inside, not the outside.

   Reply

   • Sue,
     It is such a comfort to know that God sees us, God hears us, God knows us, and God loves us. We are incredibly important to our Creator God.
     Gina

     Reply