The Disguise

I saw him ask a question at the counter.
I saw him but I also smelled him.
It was a combination of cigarette smoke and body odor.
I could see the customer service person turn away for a moment.

His clothes were disheveled.
His hair was wild, going in all directions.
His teeth looked as if he had not been to the dentist in a while.
All the while I kept thinking one thought.

God loves this man.

I heard her before I saw her.
She was ranting an raving about one thing or another.
Nothing seemed to satisfy her.
She was right and the other person was wrong.

I imagined how she would be drawn in caricature.
I imagined someone would draw her mouth wide open and her face red with anger.
I imagined someone would draw her finger pointing obnoxiously in the face of the other person.
All the while I kept thinking one thought.

God loves this woman.

I saw a homeless man on the corner.
A large sheet of cardboard was his bed, his chair, and his table.
A trash bag was next to him filled with cans and bottles.
Perhaps that would be his dinner money that night.

I saw a canvas bag with some old clothes sticking out.
A pair of socks were hanging on the wrought iron railing nearby.
A blanket that looked more like Swiss cheese was rumpled on the cardboard bed.
All the while, I kept thinking one thought.

God sees this man.

People are invisible to us for one reason or another.
We simply do not see them.
Perhaps, we choose not to see them.
They become a mirror to us; we do not always like what we see.

What if we changed our perspective?
What if we prayed for the ability to see them the way God sees them?
What if we took seriously the community God longs for us to foster?
What if we spent more time one-anothering than living in isolation?

We would argue that we are not isolated.
We would argue that people are around us all the time.
We go through life resembling a toddler’s parallel play.
We are next to someone but we are not really with them.

That is not God’s idea of community.
That is not God’s idea of loving our neighbor.
We were created for community.
Why is it that our culture is becoming more isolated and individualistic?

Michael Card, author, musician, and Bible study teacher sang about those same thoughts.
A group from his church went to a rescue mission on Tuesday nights.
One night, he saw a man from his church spending time with an elderly man.
Alcohol had taken its toll on the elderly man.

As he watched the man from his church talking to the elderly man, Jesus became visible.
As the elderly man received love and support from the man, he seemed to resemble Christ.
According to Card, in his book, The Name of the Promise is Jesus, both disappeared.
Christ was present in the pain and in the need.

(Distressing Disguise by Michael Card)

He is in the pain, He is in the need
He is in the poor, we are told to feed
Though He was rich, for us He became poor
How could He give so much, what was it for?

In His distressing disguise
He waits for us to surmise
That we rob our brothers by all that we own
And that’s not the way He has shown

Every time a faithful servant serves
A brother that’s in need
What happens at that moment is a miracle indeed
As they look to one another in an instant it is clear
Only Jesus is visible for they’ve both disappeared

He is in the hand that reaches out to give
He is in the touch that causes men to live
So speak with your life now as well as your tongue
Shelter the homeless, take care of the young

In His distressing disguise
He hopes that we’ll realize
That when we take care of the poorest of them
We’ve really done it to Him                 

What if we really considered that as we go about our days?
What if we saw the face of Jesus in the face of the least of these?
What if we saw the image of God in those who are hardest to love?
What if we took the time to look beneath the surface and see the person God created?

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4)

Only Jesus is visible for they’ve both disappeared.
God loves that man.
God loves that woman.
God sees that man.

Do we love?
Do we see?
Do we look for Christ in the face of those we meet each day?
Do we see Christ disguised where we would least expect to see Him?

For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
Hidden.
Disguised.
Do we see it?