Look Up (Friday Devotional)

“Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting.”

- John 4:35

“Look, up in the sky!”

Cries like that have for decades signaled the beginning of the next great Superman adventure. Every time those words are uttered, whether in print or onscreen, the reaction is the same: the ordinary citizens of Metropolis, folks formerly preoccupied with getting to work or catching a cab or reading the latest issue of the Daily Planet, drop what they’re doing and lift their gazes heavenward. Hope soars above them, and whatever they’re doing can wait.

Of course, the skies of the real world are filled with birds and planes, but no Supermen. And the sad result is that we don’t look up very much. We stare down at the papers on our desks, consumed by work. We stare down at our bank ledgers, fixated on what we have and what we don’t. And, of course, we stare down constantly and compulsively at our devices—our cell phones, our iPads, our laptops, anything that will keep our heads down and our minds distracted while the world flies by outside.

In a world where our default setting is to look down, to stay absorbed in our own matters, Jesus calls us to look up to the Father and around to our fellow man. There is a world in need of Christ’s redemptive gospel, and we have been tasked with sharing that good news—but that will only happen when we learn to look beyond ourselves.

When opportunities arise to extend the love of Christ, they aren’t often announced. When someone in pain crosses your path, they don’t always ask for help. So in a world full of people needing to see, hear, and experience the gospel, your first job is as simple as it is difficult: look up. You may be surprised how much you see.