Confess with your Eyes

Romans 10: 9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Father Raniero Cantalamessa is my new grandfather... I would just like to say that... I've adopted him because of his absolute brilliance, spiritual insight and strength, the joy in his heart, and the subtle, simple way he teaches and shows how much he loves Jesus.

I will be the first to admit that I am inexcusably lazy when it comes to evangelism. It's not that I don't want people to know I'm a Christian, it's that I'd rather not tell them. As the famous Mennonite proverb goes, when asked "Are you a Christian?" they cheerily respond, "Ask my neighbor."

This is all well and good, if you know your neighbors in a small PA suburb. When you live in London, notorious for being suspicious of strangers, especially if they live near you, this becomes difficult.

Suffice to say, my neighbors probably don't know I'm a Christian, but I try to have those around me, my work colleagues, my friends, my church, know through my service and care. I'm way off from what I should do to love them, but I really try.

So Father Raniero totally called me out on this evangelical laziness; "If you cannot tell people with your words, you can always tell them with your eyes." Tell them with your eyes that "Jesus is LORD! JESUS IS LORD!"

People say that, "The eyes are the window to the soul." Even without getting that deep, it's clear that our eyes speak to people. People can always tell what I'm thinking by my face. Even if I want to keep it blank and be mature and couch the emotions which are usually roaming and foaming around in my heart, little glimpses come out to play on my face. I sat soberly thinking about the things my eyes say to people on a probably near daily basis:

• I need coffee. (many times a day)
• I like your hair. (genuinely)
• I hate your hair. (tshirt, skirt, shoes)
• I don't know what you're saying. (huh?!)
• Could you just move. (on the pavement)
• This is boring. (bus time..., briefing...)
• I need coffee. (always)
• Don't you DARE. (cut in the queue)
• That would be GREAT. (if you got me coffee)
• I'll pretend I'm happy. (but I'd rather not be here)
• Meh. (I need coffee)
• Am I the only one excited by this?! (puppies!)
• I think you just caught me watching you (on the tube) 
• You are cute! (usually guys on the tube)

I could go on and on... the point is, I don't think my eyes ever say "Jesus is LORD!" and I really want them to. I really want to be the kind of person buzzing with the Joy of the Lord, even if the words don't come out of my mouth. The problem is I'm not really sure how to make this happen... 

I mean, I thought about thinking about it a lot, maybe meditating on it, "Ommmm Jesus is Lord, Jesus is Lord, Jesus is Lord..." or singing more worship songs, or praying more... but I pray a bit already and I don't think my eyes communicate the supremacy and sovereignty of Jesus. 

So... I'm going to go on a cheesy motif overload for a moment... but I want you to come with me. If, the eyes are the window to the soul, and my heart is where I keep my treasure, then... theoretically, if my heart is bubbling over with the joy of the Lord, it should show out of my eyes.

The real problem is that in my heart, Jesus is A treasure, not all of my treasure.

I remember having a moment singing a worship song that said "here in your arms, there's no other place I'd rather be...." and I had to stop singing it, cause... at that moment I kinda really wanted a boyfriend and if some cute guy had opened his arms to me, I probably would have run right in... There were other places than Jesus' arms where I would like to be... and this is a problem.

It's not a problem because guys are bad, or because wanting things for my life is bad... but I just don't think making it the treasure of my life is worth it. Martin Luther King Jr. famously said, "If a man doesn't have something he would die for, he isn't fit to live." Once again, Sir Winston Churchill said "We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give."

Yes, I care about education and writing and I'd like to be recognized for my talents and develop my skills... but, I know, deep down in my heart, that being a famous author or getting awards in education or having many degrees from universities isn't more important than people knowing that Jesus is Lord. Having a boyfriend isn't more important than people knowing that Jesus is Lord. The very least I could do is live with my face showing the glory of the Lord as I roam around this city, teach these kids, and laugh with my friends... that's the LEAST I could do. May the Lord help me and guide me into other ways of loving these amazing creatures He's blessed and surrounded me with. And I should probably introduce myself to my neighbors...