I was working next to a special-needs coworker when he scraped his knuckle on a pan. He noticed that it was bleeding, and was very worried. I got him a band-aid, put it on his knuckle, and gave him a finger cot to cover the finger with so the band-aid wouldn’t get wet and fall off. He couldn’t figure out how to roll the finger cot over the Band-aid–so I helped him with that too. He was like a child, upset by the sight of his own blood, even from an insignificant scrape, and helpless to deal with it on his own.
Today, as I was rolling on my coworker’s finger cot, I was reminded of a statement Jesus made. He said, “Whatever you do to the very least of these My brothers, you have done it unto Me.” Today I got to experience the blessing of someone being Christ to me–so that I could wash His feet with my tears and dry them with my hair. You see, today, I bandaged Jesus’ wound. Today, I rolled a finger cot on Jesus’ finger.
Not only did I get to experience someone being Christ to me, but at the same time, I got to be Christ to him. The truth is, I am helpless to deal with my own shame, my own pain, my own sin. I am incapable of understanding God, of comprehending His purposes. The “independence” I have is insignificant compared to the degree to which I depend on God for my every thought, breath, word, action. Just like my coworker was dependent upon me to help him deal with his scrape, I am dependent on Christ to deal with my situation. The difference, of course, is that I too often think that I am autonomous and rebel against dependence. When I scrape myself, I try to deal with it on my own. Even when I can’t roll the finger cot on myself, I refuse the proffered help. I don’t accept my dependence. I rebel against it–against what is best for me–because I think I know better and can do it better myself. I could learn a lot from my coworkers. Jesus said that we must become as little children if we are to enter the kingdom of God. In that respect, my coworkers may be closer than I–I still have a lot to learn about being dependent.
Most of Jesus’ teaching took the form of parables–stories, metaphors, things to make us think. And today, I heard His word in story form–a living parable, to make me think. “Who is my neighbor?” the teacher asked to justify himself. Jesus answered that today. “What does it mean to become like a child?” Jesus answered that today. “How can I serve Christ?” Jesus answered that today. A story. A metaphor. I play Christ and bandage a wound–and realize how often I refuse His help. My coworker plays Christ as I serve him–and I discover the joy of worship. Everyday life becomes theology–understanding that almost skips the head on its way to the heart.