"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another..." Colossians 3:12-13
The year was 1993 when my 5-year-old self discovered my first favorite band. My dad had created the best cassette tape ever, and my brother and I would listen to it over and over again in the backseat of our dad's car. We had all of the songs memorized and could go straight from one song to the other, and we later were very confused when the radio would play different songs before and after our favorites because we thought that they were supposed to be in that certain order. And that's how I discovered Ace of Base.
Ace of Base is still one of my favorite bands to this day, and I highly suggest you listen to "Life Is a Flower" right now if you instantly need to make your day better. But back in 1993, my favorite song quickly became "I Saw the Sign," and I sang it all of the time, even though I had no idea what it meant or what it was about. My brother and I still laugh about how I sang the words incorrectly for years: "I got a new life. You would hardly recognize me, I'm so fat (glad)." I really liked my 5-year-old interpretation.
I was reminiscing about those cassette tape days recently since our boys are now around the same age that I was when I discovered my first favorite song, and I started thinking about the words--seeing signs and having our eyes opened. And then I started thinking about people and about how much we just don't know about each other until our eyes are opened and we learn what's really going on. I thought about how many times I have unfairly judged someone because I didn't fully know or understand what was going on in their lives behind the scenes.
What if everyone that we encountered today had a sign that said all of their unspoken struggles? All of their worries? All of their anxieties? All of their concerns? All of the things that they don't speak about or tell anyone? All of their private battles? And how would we treat them today if we only knew all of the things that are remaining unsaid?
One of my favorite aspects of Jesus, actually the aspect of Jesus that I desire the most, is His empathy. "Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Philippians 2:5-8 "For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin." Hebrews 4:15
Scripture tells us so many times that when Jesus encountered sinful people that he was "filled with compassion." It was the very opposite reaction of the Pharisees who were constantly seeking to trap other people, especially Jesus, in some type of sin. Despite being absolutely perfect, Jesus never looked down on others, acted superiorly, or acted like anyone was too far gone to be brought back, physically or spiritually.
And Jesus wept. Jesus wept even though He knew Lazarus was going to die. Even though He knew that He would personally be raising Lazarus from the dead. He still wept. He still felt. He still humbled himself enough to produce tears. He was not above anything, although he was absolutely above everything.
And I wonder what this world would be like if we truly lived in the same way? If we didn't compare ourselves to others? If we stopped tearing down and instead started building up? If we stopped calling others by their sins and started calling them by their names? If we realized that without Jesus, we are lost, too.
Ian Maclaren said, "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." What if everyone else had signs with their struggles? How would we treat them? What if we had signs with our struggles? How would we behave and want to be treated?
If we really knew what was going on with each other, would we really gossip about each other? Would we use our words to tear each other down? Would we exclude each other? Or be impatient with each other? Would we listen in order to respond? Or listen in order to truly understand? How much compassion would we feel? If our eyes were opened? Wouldn't we be doing every, single thing we could to build each other up?
If we saw the sign.
May our gentleness truly be evident to all.
So Much Love,
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