Right There All Along

Posted by Jay

Right there all along . . .

I inherited a lot of good traits from my father. One trait I could do without is losing things. It seemed as though my dad lost his keys an average of twice a day. Or his wallet. Or his cell phone.
I have had many times in my life where I was so frantic leaving the house, anxiously looking for my phone or keys or wallet, only to suddenly realize that I am holding the very item I’m looking for. It was right there all along.

At church we talk a lot about reaching out to people, about being inviting, welcoming, and warm. We talk about living out our faith, and sharing our faith by loving people. I think the reality is I like talking about it more than I actually like doing it. Doing it is so much different than talking about it.

Some time ago my church hired an IT guy named Chris. I asked Chris if I could write about him and use his name. He graciously said yes. Chris had been attending our church for some time, and then responded to an ad in the bulletin about IT work. His office is in the same office building that I am in.
I kept things on the surface with Chris. I did this for lots of reasons. You can sense from Chris that he brings some baggage, some pain, and is an outsider to church culture. Don’t get me wrong. I said “Hi” when I saw him. I went to him with computer problems. But on the inside, I know the difference in my actions of accepting someone and extending myself, or shutting them out and keeping them at arm’s length.

The other day God tapped me on my shoulder and spoke to my heart and said, “Jay, wake up man, and treat this guy with some respect and love, quit shutting him out.”

Chris and I went to Starbucks. (Where else?) In our conversation, I asked Chris what connections or friends he has made at the church, after attending there for months and now working there as well. His answer? 0. Zip. Nada.

I have to change. I have to stop talking about reaching out and loving people and actually do it. I’m tired of being a hypocrite about this type of thing. If I can’t reach out to Chris, who is right here, right in front of my face, what chance do I have of helping my church become an inviting place?

Who is your “Chris” right now? I’ll bet there is someone. I bet that in all the frantic energy we spend talking about, praying for, and planning how we will be a friendly place, that just like the keys already in your hand, someone is already in your life... they were right there all along.