Do I really care? This is a question that resounded deep in my heart one night last summer that I will never forget.
Last summer I had the privilege to lead 25 teenagers and adults on a mission trip to New York City. One night we planned on going to the top of the Empire State Building. We had planned on going up right around sunset so that we could see the transition from daytime NYC to nighttime NYC. The goal of the night was not simply to see the view from the tallest building in NYC or to take some good touristy pictures. We went up there with the intention of praying over the city in every direction - north, south, east, and west.
We broke up into our travel groups and started weeding through the hundreds and hundreds of people on top of the Empire State Building that night to find good places to pray over the city. My group found a place against the railing and we started praying. As I was praying and looking over this massive city full of lights, I began to think about all the people (over 8 million people live in NYC) who did not know the incredible saving grace of Jesus. I began to think about all the people struggling day-to-day to get by as well as the Wall Street businessman that has spent the majority of his life chasing the almighty dollar. I prayed that God would give me His eyes when He looked down at that city - even if just for a moment.
My heart was immediately broken in that moment. Tears began to well up and stream down my face as the thought of so many people being lost and living in the darkness. God had given me a tiny glimpse of the world through His eyes in that moment and I could barely handle it.
That moment forced me to look myself in the mirror and ask a really hard question, “DO I REALLY CARE?” Do I really care about the lost? Do I care enough about it to do anything about it? If I consistently beg God to (like the Hillsong United song Hosanna so beautifully puts) “break my heart for what breaks Your’s”, then I have to use my life and my small circle of influence to do what I can to change that. It has to force me to move and do something.
The question I have for you today is a tough one: do you really care? Do you really care about the lost in your workplace? Do you really care about the lost in your city? Do you really care about the lost that live in your neighborhood? Do you really care about the lost in New York City? Do you really care about the lost living halfway across the world in another country? If the answer is “yes”, what are you doing about it? Purposely pursue ways that you can do something - start a conversation with a co-worker, start praying for the lost in your area, help send somebody on a mission campaign, etc - to help seek and save the lost.
God, let us see this world through Your eyes today. Break our hearts for what breaks Your’s.
Awesome!