Outlive Your Life Part 10

That Fiddle.

Whenever you did one of these things to someone

overlooked or ignored, that was me-you did it to me.

MATTHEW 25:40 (MSG).

At 7:51 a.m., January 12, 2007, a young musician took his position against a wall in a Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C., metro station. He wore jeans, a long-sleeved T-s.h.i.+rt, and a Was.h.i.+ngton Nationals baseball cap. He opened a violin case, removed his instrument, threw a few dollars and pocket change into the case as seed money, and began to play.

He played for the next forty-three minutes. He performed six cla.s.sical pieces. During that time 1,097 people pa.s.sed by. They tossed in money to the total of $32.17. Of the 1,097 people, seven-only seven-paused longer than sixty seconds. And of the seven, one-only one-recognized the violinist Joshua Bell.

Three days prior to this metro appearance staged by the Was.h.i.+ngton Post, Bell filled Boston's Symphony Hall, where just fairly good tickets went for $100 a seat. Two weeks after the experiment, he played for a standing-room-only audience in Bethesda, Maryland. Joshua Bell's talents can command $1,000 a minute. That day in the subway station, he barely earned enough to buy a cheap pair of shoes.

You can't fault the instrument. He played a Stradivarius built in the golden period of Stradivari's career. It's worth $3.5 million. You can't fault the music. Bell successfully played a piece from Johann Sebastian Bach that Bell called "one of the greatest achievements of any man in history."

But scarcely anyone noticed. No one expected majesty in such a context. Shoe-s.h.i.+ne stand to one side, kiosk to the other. People buying magazines, newspapers, chocolate bars, and lotto tickets. And who had time? This was a workday. This was the Was.h.i.+ngton workforce. Government workers mainly, on their way to budget meetings and management sessions. Who had time to notice beauty in the midst of busyness? Most did not.1 Most of us will someday realize that we didn't either. From the perspective of heaven, we'll look back on these days-these busy, cluttered days-and realize, That was Jesus playing the violin. That was Jesus wearing the ragged clothes. That was Jesus in the orphanage . . . in the jail . . . in the cardboard shanty. The person needing my help was Jesus.

There are many reasons to help people in need.

"Benevolence is good for the world."

"We all float on the same ocean. When the tide rises, it benefits everyone."

"To deliver someone from poverty is to unleash that person's potential as a researcher, educator, or doctor."

"As we reduce poverty and disease, we reduce war and atrocities. Healthy, happy people don't hurt each other."

Compa.s.sion has a dozen advocates.

But for the Christian, none is higher than this: when we love those in need, we are loving Jesus. It is a mystery beyond science, a truth beyond statistics. But it is a message that Jesus made crystal clear: when we love them, we love him.

This is the theme of his final sermon. The message he saved until last. He must want this point imprinted on our conscience. He depicted the final judgment scene. The last day, the great Day of Judgment. On that day Jesus will issue an irresistible command. All will come. From sunken s.h.i.+ps and forgotten cemeteries, they will come. From royal tombs and gra.s.sy battlefields, they will come. From Abel, the first to die, to the person being buried at the moment Jesus calls, every human in history will be present.

All the angels will be present. The whole heavenly universe will witness the event. A staggering denouement. Jesus at some point will "separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats" (Matt. 25:32). Shepherds do this. They walk among the flock and, one by one, with the use of a staff direct goats in one direction and sheep in the other.

Graphic, this thought of the Good Shepherd stepping through the flock of humanity. You. Me. Our parents and kids. "Max, go this way." "Ronaldo, over there." "Maria, this side."

How can one envision this moment without the sudden appearance of this urgent question: What determines his choice? How does Jesus separate the people?

Jesus gives the answer. Those on the right, the sheep, will be those who fed him when he was hungry, brought him water when he was thirsty, gave him lodging when he was lonely, clothing when he was naked, and comfort when he was sick or imprisoned. The sign of the saved is their concern for those in need. Compa.s.sion does not save them-or us. Salvation is the work of Christ. Compa.s.sion is the consequence of salvation.

The sheep will react with a sincere question: When? When did we feed, visit, clothe, or comfort you (vv. 3439)?

Jesus' answer will sound something like this. "Remember when you got off the subway? It was a wintry Was.h.i.+ngton morning. Commuters were bundled and busy and focused on their work. You were, too, mind you. But then you saw me. Yes, that was me! Standing between the coffee kiosk and the newsstand, that was me. I was wearing a baseball cap and a scarf and playing a fiddle. The mob rushed past as if I were a plastic plant. But you stopped. I knew you were busy. You looked at your watch twice. But still you stopped and remembered me. You stepped over to the coffee stand, bought me a cup, and brought it over. I want you to know I never forgot that."

Jesus will recount, one by one, all the acts of kindness. Every deed done to improve the lot of another person. Even the small ones. In fact, they all seem small. Giving water. Offering food. Sharing clothing. As Chrysostom pointed out, "We do not hear, 'I was sick and you healed me,' or 'I was in prison and you liberated me.'"2 The works of mercy are simple deeds. And yet in these simple deeds, we serve Jesus. Astounding, this truth: we serve Christ by serving needy people.

The Jerusalem church understood this. How else can we explain their explosion across the world? We've only considered a handful of their stories. What began on Pentecost with the 120 disciples spilled into every corner of the world. Antioch. Corinth. Ephesus. Rome. The book of Acts, unlike other New Testament books, has no conclusion. That's because the work has not been finished.

Many years ago I heard a woman discuss this work. She visited a Catholic church in downtown Miami, Florida, in 1979. The small sanctuary overflowed with people. I was surprised. The event wasn't publicized. I happened to hear of the noon-hour presentation through a friend. I was living only a few blocks from the church. I showed up a few minutes early in hopes of a front-row seat. I should have arrived two hours early. People packed every pew and aisle. Some sat in windowsills. I found a spot against the back wall and waited. I don't know if the air-conditioning was broken or nonexistent, but the windows were open, and the south coast air was stuffy. The audience was chatty and restless. Yet when she entered the room, all stirring stopped.

No music. No long introduction. No fanfare from any public officials. No entourage. Just three, maybe four, younger versions of herself, the local priest, and her.

The father issued a brief word of welcome and told a joke about placing a milk crate behind the lectern so we could see his guest. He wasn't kidding. He positioned it, and she stepped up, and those blue eyes looked out at us. What a face. Vertical lines chiseled around her mouth. Her nose, larger than most women would prefer. Thin lips, as if drawn with a pencil, and a smile naked of pretense.

She wore her characteristic white Indian sari with a blue border that represented the Missionaries of Charity, the order she had founded in 1949. Her sixty-nine years had bent her already small frame. But there was nothing small about Mother Teresa's presence.

"Give me your unborn children," she offered. (Opening words or just the ones I remember most? I don't know.) "Don't abort them. If you cannot raise them, I will. They are precious to G.o.d."

Who would have ever pegged this slight Albanian woman as a change agent? Born in a cauldron of ethnic strife, the Balkans. Shy and introverted as a child. Of fragile health. One of three children. Daughter of a generous but unremarkable businessman. Yet somewhere along her journey, she became convinced that Jesus walked in the "distressing disguise of the poor," and she set out to love him by loving them. In 1989 she told a reporter that her Missionaries had picked up around fifty-four thousand people from the streets of Calcutta and that twenty-three thousand or so had died in their care.3 I wonder if G.o.d creates people like Mother Teresa so he can prove his point: "See, you can do something today that will outlive your life."

There are several billion reasons to consider his challenge. Some of them live in your neighborhood; others live in jungles you can't find and have names you can't p.r.o.nounce. Some of them play in cardboard slums or sell s.e.x on a busy street. Some of them walk three hours for water or wait all day for a shot of penicillin. Some of them brought their woes on themselves, and others inherited the mess from their parents.

None of us can help everyone. But all of us can help someone. And when we help them, we serve Jesus.

Who would want to miss a chance to do that?

Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me."

(Matt. 25:3436 NLT).

O Lord, where did I see you yesterday . . . and didn't recognize you? Where will I encounter you today . . . and fail to identify you? O my Father, give me eyes to see, a heart to respond, and hands and feet to serve you wherever you encounter me! Transform me, Lord, by your Spirit into a servant of Christ, who delights to meet the needs of those around me. Make me a billboard of your grace, a living advertis.e.m.e.nt for the riches of your compa.s.sion. I long to hear you say to me one day, "Well done, good and faithful servant." And I pray that today I would be that faithful servant who does well at doing good. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Discussion and.

Action Guide.

Prepared by David Drury.

Max wants you to do more than read about the book of Acts. He wants you to live out the twenty-ninth chapter, writing the story of the church for your generation. Outlive Your Life urges you to reconsider your role in the world. The earliest Christians made ministry to the marginalized the center of their work. Jesus touched hurts, felt pain, and spoke grace. Following his example, the church exists to open doors, break walls, and restore relations.h.i.+ps. If you want to go to the next level in being all Jesus Christ dreams for you and the church to be, the following pages will help you get started.

Use this guide to spark further reflection and inspire action related to the perspectives in Outlive Your Life. Each chapter in this guide includes Questions for Discussion that you can talk over in a group or consider on your own. You will also find Ideas for Action, which offer practical first steps in making a difference. Consider them. Then do them. Don't miss this opportunity to outlive your life.

CHAPTER 1: OUR ONCE-IN-HISTORY OPPORTUNITY.

Questions for Discussion.

1. How would you relate Ephesians 2:10 to the fable about Father Benjamin?

2. Describe someone you know who is outliving his or her life by meeting needs. In what ways do you want to be more like that person? What do the following pa.s.sages tell you about outliving your life: Acts 13:22, 36; Isaiah 58:67; and Psalm 92:14?

3. Which needs break your heart the most? Share any statistics you have heard about that specific need, or return to pages 56 to review those offered. What words describe how you feel when you hear these numbers?

4. Max listed three questions that rocked his world. How might future generations be disappointed with the way we are responding to today's needs?

Ideas for Action * Schedule time with someone you admire who's making a difference (perhaps the person you mentioned above). Ask these questions: Why did you choose to live this way? What motivates you? What did you have to learn? How did you begin?

* Intentionally expose yourself to a variety of needs. Create a list of ways to get out of your comfort zone and listen to people in need. Reorder your calendar to include projects that meet both local and global needs. Make sure your schedule includes something nearby (such as a neighborhood or community-action project) as well as something with international impact (perhaps a short-term missions trip).

CHAPTER 2: CALLING MR. POT ROAST.

Questions for Discussion 1. Think about someone who did something ordinary for you, but it made an extraordinary difference. What small thing could you do that would have a big impact?

2. In what ways were the early disciples ordinary people? How would you have felt if you had been part of the 120 people who heard the words of Jesus just before he ascended (Acts 1:111)?

3. What lessons did you learn from the story of Nicholas Winton, who saved so many from the Holocaust? In what ways was he ordinary? What did you think of the fact that he didn't share the story with anyone until his wife discovered the sc.r.a.pbook?

4. Review the idea of strengths and weaknesses presented in 2 Corinthians 12:910. Remember a time when you felt weak yet G.o.d gave you the strength to do something for him. Explain.

5. If Jesus told you to recruit eleven of your ordinary friends and relatives to change the world, whose names would you put on the list? How could your group make a difference right now?

Ideas for Action * Engage in routine acts of kindness. Apply measurements of time to your service for others. Are you doing something daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly to show compa.s.sion and meet needs?

* Take part in random acts of kindness. Don't forget to work outside your routine as well. When G.o.d gives you an unplanned opportunity, react with compa.s.sion, and experience the joy of these divine appointments.

* Get involved in radical acts of kindness. Plan an intense, sacrificial, and strategic response to the needs of the world. Think big, get prepared, and enlist others to join you (start with the list of eleven people you created earlier).

CHAPTER 3: LET G.o.d UNSh.e.l.l YOU.

Questions for Discussion 1. What habits, att.i.tudes, possessions, and technologies create a clamsh.e.l.l of sorts to seal you off from the needs around you? How can you work around or remove these barriers?

2. Have you experienced what the chapter calls a "compa.s.sion attack"? Did you respond by ignoring the need or becoming distracted? Have you responded by trying to meet the need?

3. Describe a time when you saw G.o.d work in a sudden and unexpected way. To what extent are you open to the unexpected leadings of G.o.d? How could you prepare yourself for those times?

4. Respond to the following questions posed in the chapter: a. "With whom do you feel most fluent?" To what kinds of people or needs can you most easily relate?

b. "For whom do you feel most compa.s.sion?" What kinds of needs touch your heart most deeply?

Ideas for Action * Respond creatively to the needs around you. Here are a few ideas to get you started. Some people carry around fuel vouchers from the local gas station or free meal coupons from a nearby restaurant to give to people in need. Others have a special fund they are always prepared to use. Some individuals regularly give to a church benevolent fund and refer people to that church for aid. Plan ahead to respond with compa.s.sion (instead of waiting to see whether you feel like it in the moment).

* Consider focusing on one country with greater needs than your own in your prayers, giving, and relations.h.i.+ps. Discover the true needs. Research what is working well. Find out what is not working. Pray intentionally. Eat their food. Celebrate their holidays. It might be possible to use your vacation time to go on a missions trip to that country.

* Research ministries or orphanages dedicated to that country's needs. Invest resources and build relations.h.i.+ps. Make that country a second home in your heart. Over time you will be amazed by what G.o.d will do in and through you.

CHAPTER 4: DON'T FORGET THE BREAD.

Questions for Discussion 1. Describe a time when you forgot something important.

2. What do the following verses encourage you to value most: Matthew 28:19; John 3:16; John 6:35; John 14:6; Romans 3:23; Romans 10:9; and Ephesians 2:8?

3. On a sheet of paper, make two lists side by side. In the first column, build a list of the most important things to G.o.d and the church. In the second column, make a list of the concerns that distract Christians from those most important things. At the bottom write down some practical ways to s.h.i.+ft your focus from the second list to the first. Consider how focusing on the first list might also achieve the best concerns from the second list.

4. When has someone given you a second chance as the police officer gave Max? Think of a person who is looking for a second chance from you these days. How could you extend grace to that individual the next time you have the opportunity?

5. Grace gives not just "help for this life but hope for the next." Which do you find to be more important for people: tangible, physical needs or eternal, spiritual needs? In what situations do you need to meet a physical need first in order to meet a deeper spiritual need? In what situations is the opposite true?

Ideas for Action * When the people asked Peter, "Whatever could this mean?" it was an opportunity for him to speak about the most important things. If an acquaintance or friend said, "I've noticed something different about you-what is it?" it would be a great opportunity for you to do the same. Make a note of how you would answer that question.

* Pray for five friends, relatives, or acquaintances whom you think may be far from G.o.d. (If you simply do not know whether G.o.d is most important in a person's life, then he or she could be on this list.) For each of the five names, think of the next time you are likely to see that person. Make a personal commitment to pray daily for your "Five for G.o.d" list.

* Start a simple but intentional conversation with people about what is most important to you. Here are some ways to initiate the conversation: * "Would it be okay for me to tell you what's happened to me spiritually?"

* "I want to make sure you know something about me-something I hope is true for you as well."

* "Have I ever told you about the most important thing in my life?"

CHAPTER 5: TEAM UP.