Kickin' it with the Outcasts

Some thoughtful discussion among myself and my peers provoked me to wonder which was more influential: Jesus's miraculous healings, or the time He spent with the outcasts of society?

We were talking about how Jesus tells us that if we have the faith of a mustard seed, we can move mountains. He also reminds us that those who receive the Holy Spirit and follow after Jesus may do even greater things than what Jesus did. As we discussed what it meant to really live with faith, and do crazy things for Jesus, and live with abandon, and trust God unconditionally, I began to identify the mountains God moved in my own life.

As some of you may know, I struggled with depression for a stretch. The bullying at school and the loneliness of my faith (though I wouldn't say I had any faith at the time; I accepted Jesus but wasn't living in a relationship with Him) prompted me to angrily question God as to why He could allow pain in my life. And after a pretty remarkable intervention, which you could read about in earlier posts, He took my pain and anger and hurt - my mountain - and removed it far from me. 

Looking back and remembering where I was then and comparing it with where I am now, I'm not sure a physical mountain moving would impress me as much as it would have years ago. Sure, it's an amazing thing to watch my God at work, but I've seen bits and pieces of what He's capable of. It's pretty incredible.

And not only in my own life, but I've seen it in the lives of others. As I learn more about the stories behind my close friends and the way God reached out to them, I am more and more blown away by the examples of God's faithfulness in their lives. Tomorrow one of my friends will be sharing her testimony, and I am so excited knowing that soon our youth group will know the awesome story behind her life. An example of humility and godly character, it's hard to believe that she was once so radically different. That's Jesus for you; moving mountains everywhere.

During our discussion this morning, one very wise young lady shared that in third world countries, the oppression against Christianity is much more clear and present: terrorism, persecution, hunger, famine — real and physical items that need to be remedied immediately. And yet, here in America, we have our own mountains that need moving, and all too often, they are hidden beneath our complacent luxury. Grief, depression, angst, anger, jealousy, envy, pride — these are all things that require a different remedy, though needed just as immediately. 

Jesus went around helping people. That's what it means to live it like Jesus. Teaching, sharing wisdom, and encouraging others is a big part of the job, of course, but what more is wisdom or encouragement than helping a poor and broken soul? We can nourish both the physical, like Jesus did as He healed others, or we can nourish the emotional, mental, or spiritual, like Jesus did as He spent time with anyone who happened to be around Him. Kindness and graciousness towards what He called "the least of these" was quintessential to His ministry.

Jesus went around healing others, and many times, they in turn went off telling everybody about what He had done. But when Jesus went and spent time with others, and invested emotionally with those otherwise considered outcasts, those who invited Him in did not need to spread word of His goodness toward them; the Pharisees picked up on it very quickly. When we go out of our way to spend time with those whom others would never associate with, people notice. 

In the case of Zacchaeus, he wasn't healed or changed physically. He simply had a meal with Jesus, and miraculously the sinful tax-collector became an incredibly generous and honest man. A single meal. Jesus moved a mountain through His act of graciousness; an act of love requiring no less faith than it would to move an actual mountain. Loving those who aren't accepted by society is tough, and it puts love to the test; if it isn't love, it won't reach out to those who don't deserve it. Love, in its purest state, is one-way. It doesn't expect any return, interest, or gain for its investment. It's a loss to the giver, really, in exchange for the gain of the receiver. 

We could easily tell ourselves, "It'd be easier for me to invite a stranger into our house for a meal, and to extend love towards them, than to physically move a mountain; the latter requires much more faith than I have." But how many of us will extend such gracious and unconditional love to those who need it; the least of these? As Jesus demonstrates when He says, "For which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'?" words mean nothing unless action follows to back it up. 

So which is more influential; the acts of kindness and graciousness we show to those around us, especially those out casted by society, or miraculous displays of faith physically manifested? I'm not sure. People are awed by such miracles, and rightfully so; but it seems to become only a fading memory. The love that we show another will stick with them for a very long time. Moving mountains isn't so hard if only you have faith; just love one-directionally and expect nothing back, for this is what it is to #LiveItLikeJesus.