stop closing your eyes

Although most of the world believes that doctors are good and we need more of them, especially in the developing world, I still hate going to the doctor. I avoid them whenever I can. The problem is that whenever I go, I’m likely to experience some element of pain. And being a normal person, pain is not a desirable experience.

A while back I had to get a yellow fever renewal shot, necessary for my trips to Africa. Yup, a shot. There is no doubt that there will be pain when needles are involved. I ask the nurse if it is possible to just take a pill, or maybe a patch (like for smoking). She just smiled at me as if to say, “just roll up your sleeve and shut up”.

Right before the nurse injects me with this amazing liquid substance that will prevent me from contradicting this terrible disease, I close my eyes. I don’t want to watch the needle enter my body. I know that it’s going to happen . . . . but for some reason, I believe that if I close my eyes, that maybe I can avoid dealing with the pain. Maybe it will simply disappear.

I close my eyes. I try and escape the pain of the shot. I believe that if I don’t see it, maybe it will never happen.

Now, the purpose of this journal entry is not to tell you that it’s bad to close your eyes while getting a shot. In fact, as long as I continue to travel to exotic and ridiculously amazing places, I’m going to continue to need shots and I will likely always close my eyes to this painful sight.

This notion of closing one’s eyes is simply an analogy for a global pandemic of human behavior and I am completely and utterly guilty of this.

We as people love to close your eyes in the face of injustice, pain and suffering. I know this sounds harsh, but I’m afraid it’s true.

We don’t like to hear about global problems so we watch TV shows that fantasize about the lives of celebrities.

We don’t like to hear the cries of the homeless so we wear headphones as we walk.

We don’t want to be confronted by the beggar so we rush to cross the street, then move to a gated neighborhood in the suburbs, and maybe we’ll build a wall to keep poorer people away.

We don’t want to deal with our personal problems so we drown ourselves in movies, sports, alcohol, sex, TV, drugs, technology, music . . . or really whatever helps us forget about the decaying person inside.

We close our eyes . . . . hoping that when we reopen them, that perhaps this pain, anguish and turmoil will move on. We hope that someone else will take the initiative to deal with the tough social ills. We pray that our government will take care of the poverty we see. We assume that more “mother Teresa” type individuals will dedicate their lives toserving the poor.

However, as we reopen our eyes, we find that the problems have only worsened. Nothing has changed except the movement of the clock.

I encourage you, nay, I implore you, no, I dare you . . . . open your eyes.

Look around. Don’t drive to the store, walk, and really see what’s going on. Don’t rush, but walk slowly. Absorb each moment.

This liberating experience will change you, but it will not make things easier. In fact, it will likely make things harder. You will be confronted with the realities of our world, the realities that you had previously closed your eyes to. You will have to deal with hunger, violence, war, murder, poverty, genocide, homelessness, greed, inequality and racism to name a few.

And most of all, you’ll have to deal with your own decay. But if you take a long sobering look at yourself, you’ll soon realize that you aren’t any better than the terrorist or corrupt politician that you loathe on TV.

But what is so beautiful about all of this you ask . . . I mean, why it is worth it. It is tough to describe this in one word or concept. The only word that brings it all together is love.

Yeah, love.

True love is only possible when all the walls are torn and every pretense melts away.

And the most incredible display of love I’ve ever experienced or witnessed is what I see in the life of Jesus.

Reigning in the lofts of heaven, Jesus saw the disparity of human life with eyes wide open. There was nothing that escaped His view. I suppose He could have closed His eyes and ignored our horrific situation, continuing His heavenly lifestyle. And He was under no obligation to investigate and intervene. God had given man-kind clear guidelines for life, however, Adam and Eve’s mistake sent us in a downward spiral.

But we close our eyes and say, “oh, we can make things better. I mean, we are freakin’ human beings. We put a man on the moon and certainly we can make things right.” And we try, we struggle, we battle, we fight . . . . trying to make things right. We form unions, governments, plans, roadmaps, committees, boards, whatever. But it never works. We never learn the lessons of history. We continue to fail miserably.

Our eyes are still closed. We walk around blindly.

And then Jesus entered the scene. Leaving the indescribable beauty of heaven, He entered an earthly situation riddled with hate and brutality. He saw man, walking around blindly, not experiencing love or anything beautiful.

His life of 33 years culminated in the amazing events that occurred during His last 3 years on earth. He defied cultural norms, recruited the rejected, gave grace to the prostitute, healed the sick and broken, saw through the intentions of hypocritical religious leaders and associated with shady characters of all kind. He spoke of something beautiful, but spoke of this freedom in parables. People, in the thousands, came to hear His revolutionary words of freedom, humility and mercy.

His life sought to rupture a corrupt system, a system of blindness. But there were those who were profiting from the blindness and they didn’t want to see this system end. Not finding any fault in Him, no stumbling block, they were forced to make something up. They lied, cheated, bribed and eventually had Him right where they wanted Him. The fickle mob convicted Him and sentenced Him to a horrific death on the trunk of tree.

He didn’t fight it. Not once did He try to get out of it. I’m sure He could of. I mean, He was Jesus. He had healed people, brought people back from the dead, things that are unbelievable. I’m confident that angels were on stand-by for an incredible earthly invasion. But He never requested help.

Because although the situation looked grim, and it was, Jesus had something grand in mind. But in the moment, it was hard to imagine that Jesus was anything but a common criminal that had finally been caught in the act. Lashings, beatings, mockery . . . . and a crown of thorns to boot. So much blood, running everywhere, dripping on everything. I wonder how He stayed alive to carry that cross. But He did.

The tree was certainly fatal. Each nail did its worst. People stood in the crowd, cheering and taunting from a distance. But guilt hung heavy in that place. Some of the people realized what they had done, but there was no going back.

A soldier pierced Jesus’ side, revealing that Jesus was no longer alive.

For three days, the corrupt leaders breathe a sight a relief. Jesus has almost foiled their hold of power, their ability to profit off this blind world. Whew, it was close, but Jesus was dead and they could continue to loot and pillage. The fickle crowd may have felt some guilt, but they moved on quickly, returning to their lives.

But better than any movie twist or manufactured plot, Jesus’ plan to open man’s eyes had not been thwarted, but was just beginning to take shape.

On that amazing third day, Jesus returned to this earthly life. In death, Jesus confronted all of the failings of man and He bore them solely. He tore down everything that separated man from his Creator. He bridged a gap that was too far for man to ever cross. He gently told us that we don’t have to settle for this empty, blind life.

“Open your eyes”, He says to each of us. See the earth has God created it, to be enjoyed, stewarded and protected. See fellow man as God designed, a friend and companion.

Jesus returned to earth after His death not to scold us for putting Him to death and denying Him. His return shakes us out of our numb state, revitalizing our life. Our eyes are opened to our own decay and inability to deal with it. We see the brokenness all around us. The poverty, violence and despair . . . . . but we see it differently.

There is hope, but it’s not found in us. It’s not found in human creativity or philosophy. The human condition is only remedied through redemption and trust in Christ.

The opening of our eyes exposing our pain and dark places, that that hurts, just like going to the doctor. But we are not left hanging. Jesus rose from the dead to make all things new.

So, again I say, stop closing your eyes.

Josh

Gilbert, Arizona