Reaching Out

“And this commandment we have from Him, that he who loves God must love his brother also.” 1 John 4:21

While on vacation out of state, I was sitting in a Starbucks so my husband and I could get internet service for a few minutes. There was a table for two about ten feet away. A large black man wearing a white, long-sleeved, starched button-down shirt and a very large, white smile, sat across from a 20-something Asian woman, neatly dressed, and likewise exhibiting a large, white smile. Neither of them had a cup of coffee. They were having a meeting of some kind; he sounded as if he was a pastor, and she was being interviewed for something. Leading a team, perhaps, or teaching a class. They were talking about worship, kids seeking the Lord, how things were going in church. They were happy, happy people. They were clearly all about joy and love and reaching people with Jesus.

At another table for two, about six feet away, sat a 20-something black woman. She was hunched over an iPad on the table, wearing earbuds, watching a movie. I had seen her in that exact spot for four consecutive days. She wore Nike tennis shoes, black velour sweats with a thin red stripe down the legs, a black and gray striped knit shirt, and an off-white jacket. Her hair was close to being dreadlocks, but had been braided in tiny, long, perfect braids, all held back by a hair tie. Her leg jiggled constantly. She never, ever looked up. In four visits to this Starbucks, I never saw her eyes, never saw her stand or move away from her chair.

And I wondered why the black pastor or the young Asian woman—these that love worship and love Jesus and love people—were not meeting her, making contact, touching her life for at least a moment, offering friendship.

And I wondered, why didn’t I?

Itʼs so much easier, so much more acceptable, so less confrontational (that is, less confrontational to my own comfort zone) to let people be, or to let other people do it, or to “just pray.”

Lord, help us to be bold for You. We have too often failed to reach out with Your love. Make us willing to be uncomfortable in Your service. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.