Living the Dream

Black hair, black eyes, ashen face - he looked somewhat like Dracula standing outside his psychic store where stone-faced patrons waited their turn for a reading. He invited me in. No way! I thought. His shop interior screamed "eerie!" - black floor, walls and ceiling. "I'd like to help," he offered. I mustered up all my courage and stepped in....

As I walked through the darkened store I prayed quietly under my breath. I had never been anywhere so unnerving. We reached the exit and were about to part ways when it suddenly occurred to me. 

He's not headed to heaven when he dies. Who's going to tell him the truth? I had two seconds to make a decision. I turned to the psychic.

"Can I share something with you?" 

His annoyed look spoke volumes - I've heard this before and I don't want to hear it again. Before he turned away I grabbed his shoulders. 

Suddenly everything went dark! Opaque sunglasses blocked my vision. Where did they come from? But my instant blindness did not deter me.

"Do you know how much God loves you?" I sensed his apathy while seeing nothing. "He loved you so much He died on a cross for you." Now I knew I was losing him. I was desperate to reach him before it was too late.

"Look, just ask God to show you He's real. Ask Him to show you the truth about Himself," I pleaded.

Then I woke up!

Job 33:15 tells us that God instructs us through dreams,  My natural eyes gave me a worldly view of this gentleman; the sunglasses quite another. God's message in this dream was all too clear. "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (I Samuel 16:7)

It is too easy to judge people by appearances. If someone looks like they stepped off the front cover of a magazine or an ad for a homeless shelter - whatever scenario is the polar opposite of our lifestyle - we make an instant judgment. 

The Dracula psychic made me uncomfortable. But when I had on God's 'Son'-glasses all I felt was compassion. What he looked like no longer mattered.  When God let me 'see' him through His eyes all I cared about was his lost soul.

How many times had he been passed by on the other side of the street, simply because of appearance? (Luke 10:30-37) 

Get Service - Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life
This 4 minute eye-opening video is a great reminder to us all that there's more to the story than we realize.
Posted by Chuck Goetschel on Tuesday, November 16, 2010

The above video reminded me of the dream. If only we could see the heart and soul behind each face. What if we lost sight of ourselves and focused on God's heart for humanity?

Takeaway Points:

• Jesus came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).

• The next time we judge someone, let's ask God to show us His heart for that person.