May God help us see what others don’t.During this past Christmas season, I was troubled by The Salvation Army’s promotional campaign and the line “We see what others don’t.” You may recall the TV ads and billboard posters depicting images of the homeless, helpless and those in despair, with people unconsciously passing them by. I was challenged to really see the world through the eyes of Jesus.

Several years ago I visited the Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto as part of an assignment for a course I was taking on Christianity and contemporary culture. My notes from that assignment are still revealing.

My trip began with a look at the outside of this huge, inner-city shopping centre. I smelled diesel fuel, hot dogs and flowers from the street vendors, felt the stench from the sewers and the heat from the grates. I noticed the foreign exchange counters where visitors from around the world were seeking Canadian currency. I noticed a large children’s toy store incongruously situated in the same block as the strippers and drug pushers.

I saw a stamp and coin store and a place to buy expensive golf equipment. I noticed delivery trucks, newspapers for sale and the sign on a nearby hospital that read: “Help us watch over you.”
I thought, Who is watching over the man with the cardboard box for a blanket? Who is watching over the little girl begging on the street corner, not far from a store that sells a pair of earrings costing $2,600? I was near movie theatres where people went to escape reality, but on that day for me the reality was the sound of police cars and ambulances.

I saw a Mickey Mouse figurine dancing in a store window, but also many people who had no reason to dance or laugh. There were porn shops, beauty-aid stores and pigeons picking up scraps from the sidewalk. And people-lots and lots of people-always moving.
Inside the Eaton Centre I saw people reading, heard babies crying and saw Canada geese suspended high over the heads of busy shoppers down below. On the lower level people were pouring in from the subway, streaming from the outside world into this unbelievable fantasyland.

The prices in the stores were incomprehensible. I had no idea you could buy a Swiss watch for $90,000 or a diamond ring for $265,000. You could even have them gift-wrapped while you munched on a $4 piece of chocolate cake or smoked a $70 Cuban cigar. I observed one man buying a box of 25, totalling an amazing $1,750 before tax. I couldn’t help noticing the contrast between the man who bought the box of cigars and another living in a cardboard box just outside the door.

I saw a lot that day, but only because I was looking. I’ve since wondered how much I have missed in people because of my own blindness to their needs. Often I’ve prayed Bramwell Coles’ words, “Strength for my weakness, Lord, impart; sight for my blindness give to me” (SASB 448).

My mother is losing her eyesight. When she visited her specialist, she was told, “The horse has already left the barn. There’s nothing more we can do.”

My father’s response was just as blunt and to the point: “Just because the horse has left the barn doesn’t mean that we should let it get away.”

Julia Ward Howe, who wrote The Battle Hymn of the Republic, was once seeking help for someone in need from an official elected to public office. “Julia,” the man said, “I have become so busy helping humanity that I can no longer concern myself with individuals.”
Mrs. Howe responded, “Fortunately, at last report, God Almighty hasn’t reach that stage yet.”

May God help us all to see him in every situation, every relationship and every individual we encounter. And may he forgive us if we ever let things “get away” because of our spiritual blindness to those in need.

by Major Doug Hefford, Assistant Secretary for Personnel, THQ Personnel Services