I assume you have guessed by now, with the many music references, that I am an audio junkie. All the way back to my high school days, Koss High-Velocity headphones on, the Allman Brothers full tilt; I would while away countless hours. Music has been my escape as far back as I can remember. Back in the day, we played vinyl, good old scratchy vinyl. One of my favorite parts of buying records was finding the liner notes. Yes, I was the geek that would read every word. I knew every tune and every sideman. Who played for whom? It has served me well over the years as I moved from rock and roll to jazz and blues back to classic rock and blues rock to modern blues rock and contemporary Christian music. I still read the liner notes when I can find them, although they are harder to find with today’s digital format.
Most of us know the feeling of having a song stuck in our heads. Sometimes it is a good thing, in the case of a good or great tune. Sometimes it is a bad tune, a mind-numbing nuisance. Sometimes you wake up with it, sometimes you catch a piece of it on your favorite audio source. Sometimes a mischievous friend will implant it in your brain. Think of this lovely beauty from back in the day (click at your own risk). Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
Enough of that. I said all that as an introduction to a recent discovery. God has sent me a message in a song and I can’t escape the lyrics. Driven to do my best to follow their suggestion, I went looking for the lyric sheet. I discovered that the song was penned by two of my favorites in today’s contemporary Christian music scene. The song is “Jesus, Friend of Sinners,” written by Mark Hall of Casting Crowns and Matthew West and performed by Casting Crowns. It goes like this…
“Jesus, friend of sinners, we have strayed so far away
We cut down people in your name but the sword was never ours to swing
Jesus, friend of sinners, the truth’s become so hard to see
The world is on their way to You but they’re tripping over me
Always looking around but never looking up I’m so double minded
A plank eyed saint with dirty hands and a heart divided
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners
Open our eyes to the world at the end of our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks yours
Yeah
Jesus, friend of sinners, the one who’s writing in the sand
Make the righteous turn away and the stones fall from their hands
Help us to remember we are all the least of thieves
Let the memory of Your mercy bring Your people to their knees
Nobody knows what we’re for only against when we judge the wounded
What if we put down our signs crossed over the lines and loved like You did
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners
Open our eyes to world at the end of our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks yours
You love every lost cause; you reach for the outcast
For the leper and the lame; they’re the reason that You came
Lord, I was that lost cause and I was the outcast
But you died for sinners just like me, a grateful leper at Your feet
‘Cause You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever
You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever
You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever
You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners
Open our eyes to world at the end of our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks Yours
And I was the lost cause and I was the outcast
Yeah
You died for sinners just like me, a grateful leper at Your feet”
Just let the words wash over you for a moment. So many calls to show compassion and the words that stick in my mind, the prayer to “break our hearts for what breaks Yours.” Many of us pray for help to become more Christ-like. I do, daily; I pray for a servant’s heart and to grow to be more Christ-like. It is something for which I need many corrective nudges from above. Some days I do better than just break even. I still have much work to do.
Many, if not most of us are too quick to judge, too slow to show compassion. The homeless beggar who has his hand out in front of our favorite fast-food stop more often than not provokes anger or aggravation, not empathy. Aren’t most of us just a few bad decisions and a lost paycheck or two from being in those same shoes?
And lest we forget, we are all broken sinners. Remember that the Bible tells us that “None is righteous, no, not one;”( Romans 3:10 ESV) and “ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23 ESV). For me, being more compassionate seemed a good place to start. It costs nothing. My natural inclination is closer to turning a blind eye or something nearer to cynicism than compassion. We don’t all have a lot of money to give the homeless person or the orphan child but we all have the smile God gave us and the warmth of our hearts. Kindness goes a long way toward healing wounded souls.
Friends, I am no saint. This is in no form a lecture or righteous chest thumping. It is merely the observation of a struggling, broken man who is trying to make his little spot in this world a better place. My days have become less stress-filled since I first began to practice having a servant’s heart. My bookstore has become somewhat of a sanctuary. Often a place of prayer. A place where students often come just to say hello, or to brag about a new job or another life point. My students even complain when I am out of the office and they have to deal with someone else. Pretty funny, considering that my daughter is usually the “someone else.” Many of my students even came around hoping for a report on my recent surgery and recovery process. Kindness is infectious. Jesus called it the second great commandment.
37… you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39 ESV)
I may be wrong but it seems to me that if we all followed this commandment more closely, the world would be a far better place. I was once asked by a new acquaintance if I was a minister. My best response was “not nearly often enough.” I was pleased by his confusion. Today, I would be overjoyed to be asked if I was a disciple.