I'm here in New York to visit and encourage friends and family. One of the things I've noticed is that there are more beggars or entertainers going about the subway. They'll be on the platform balancing sticks or walking through the subways cars with a guitar and song. I've also noticed people are more willing to give money. There's still the rich and the poor, but the bigger dichotomy seems to be between those who give and those who don't. From my observations, those who give appear to understand where these people are coming from. The non-givers try really hard to avoid even seeing these beggars. I'll see them avert their gaze or become very involved in their ipods or newspapers. Seeing all three parties brings me to a crossroad where I must decide if I want to see and what to do with what I see.
While waiting for the subway today, I saw a young man around my age begging. He had lost both arms in an accident (so the sign that hung around his neck said). The sight was sickly and my brother couldn't even stomach it. I saw others turning away. It's a double whammy to be a disabled beggar in a foreign country and I sit here fighting tears because I cannot even fathom what life would be like without arms. How do you open doors or put on clothes? How can he help others if he cannot help himself? I put all the cash I had in his backpack (it was just a dollar sadly) and he spoke back in Spanish. I couldn't understand any of it, but I knew it wasn't a simple thank you. And if I were not leaving for another place with my brother, I would have liked to invite him for a meal or something.
As I entered the train thinking about him and the sorrow in his eye, I looked around and saw people with ipods in their ears. Music could be a form of brainwashing I think. But sometimes, we just gotta unplug everything, be still, and look around us at what's happening in the real world. As easy as it would be to just ignore everything and not feel sadness or the pain of compassion, I hope to never forget him.
Today made me more eager for the second coming and for restoration. Today made me thankful for what I have. Today helped me understand just a little bit more what the Bible means in Isaiah 61.
[61:1] The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
[2] to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
[3] to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.
(Isaiah 61:1-3 ESV)
Let us see and act appropriately, that we may be called oaks of righteousness--grand, fruitful, lasting-- so that God is gloried.
