Ouch.
That one hit me hard.
I've been working at an inner city school in one of the roughest neighborhoods in Tampa. Broken homes, drug dealers, and strip clubs litter the streets leading up to the school and homeless people are not an uncommon sight. While I was driving to school one morning I got stopped at a red light. Out from the sidewalk popped a tall skinny man with leathered skin, matted hair, and a red beanie. He held a single cardboard sign that read, "FOOD." He quietly extended his hand and walked by each car. I quickly looked down to make sure my doors were lock and fiddled with my jacket until he walked by to avoid any awkward eye contact. As soon as he walked by my heart dropped. How could I be so selfish? Matthew 25:35 flashed through my head. I quickly realized my mistake and grabbed an orange sitting in my cup holder I planned to eat for breakfast, but it was too late. He had already walked by and the light had turned green.
I think that God wants us all to prosper. However, the moment that you think prosperity equals money is where you have made a huge mistake. In my mind, I had created God into what I wanted Him to look like rather than who He truly is. He's the woman at the grocery store that has a million coupons, He's the little boy with special needs, He's the homeless man on the street corner asking for something to eat because we are all made in the image of God. I had created God into this man that just sits up on a throne with a big brown beard and looks down on all of us. This couldn't be farther from the truth. He is in each and every person that we see, even and old leathered man in a red beanie asking for food.
So I am in a season in my life where I am looking to tangibly see Him like no other. I want to see Him for Him in all of His glory. Some days it's hard. Some days I see Jesus nowhere. I see Him in no people I walk by, no customers that I help, and definitely no homeless people on the street corner. But then other days I see Him everywhere. I see His handiwork in the beautiful flowers in the field next to my school. I see Him in the faces of my classmates, my co-workers, and every homeless person I see. Now every day I keep an orange in my backpack so that I make sure that I don't miss seeing Jesus in the people made in His image.