Introspection: Lesson from a Ladybug

I share these thoughts as a call to action.

Lesson from a Ladybug

Scripture:

...I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me, I was naked and you gave Me clothing, I was sick and you took care of Me, I was in prison and you visited Me... Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of My family, you did it to Me.

Matthew 25:35-36,40

Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity
Give me Your arms for the brokenhearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see

From "Give Me Your Eyes" by Brandon Heath

I have never been very adept at attracting the ladies, but, for some reason, I seem to attract ladybugs. I remember finding ladybugs on the table after bible study and taking them outside - two weeks in a row. Once during a chapel service, I remember looking down and seeing at least three ladybugs on the floor beneath me.

Two months ago, I was riding back from a retreat with a minister friend when a ladybug flew onto my finger. A few seconds later, it flew off of my finger and went downward. This worried me, as I was afraid I would step on it. I was relieved to later find the ladybug on the car door near my leg. I watched it crawl up the door and onto the window. As it neared the top, I cracked the window to give it an opportunity to escape back into nature. Unfortunately, the ladybug only went halfway out. I didn't want to force it out of the car since we were driving pretty fast, so I coaxed it back into the car and closed the window. When my friend and I arrived at our destination, we finally got the ladybug out of the car.

Watching the ladybug and trying to get it out of the car, I realized something. If I was this preoccupied with the well-being of an insect, then so much more I should preoccupy myself with the well-being of my fellow human beings.

According to Christ, concern for others must be a priority in our lives. In His last parable as recorded in the Gospel of St. Matthew, Jesus speaks of the final judgment of humanity. Those Christ places at His right, the sheep, are commended for feeding the hungry, for clothing the needy, for caring for the sick, and for visiting the lonely. Those He places at His left, the goats, are condemned for their neglect of the hungry, the needy, the sick, and the lonely. Christ even goes so far as to say that whenever one of the sheep helped those in need it was as if he or she was helping Him. He also says that whenever one of the goats ignored someone in need, it was as if he or she was ignoring Him. The sheep are welcomed into the promised Kingdom while the goats are punished.¹

Notice that, in this story, it is not one's beliefs that determines whether or not a person enters the Kingdom. It is, in fact, the people's treatment of the down-and-out that separates the sheep from the goats, that separates those who are truly close to God and those who are actually estranged from God. Belief is important, but it is not enough. True living faith must bear fruit in our lives, showing through in our treatment of others.²

As followers of Christ, we are called to love one another as He loves us,³ and there are people all around us who are desperately in need of Christ's love. I have a friend who recently remarked that she is "trying to find her own Calcutta." This is a reference to Mother Teresa who devoted her life to caring for the needy in the Indian city of Calcutta. She was noted for saying, "Calcuttas are everywhere if only we have eyes to see. Find your Calcutta."⁴ We do not have to go halfway around the world to find those who need to experience Christ's love.

In the past year I began writing and teaching Sunday school. I was even blessed with the opportunity deliver the sermon at my Church a few times. If there is one thing that I have learned from the whole experience, it is that it's easy to preach. Practicing what I preach is another story. I too know that it is much easier to ignore or dismiss a problem then to actually try to do something about it. I can preach about showing Christ's love to others, but, if His love is not showing through in my own life, I am just making noise.⁵ This is as much an exhortation to myself as it is to you, the reader.

In this new year, let us all preoccupy ourselves with the well-being of others and look for ways to show the love of Christ to those in need.


Notes:
1 - Matthew 25:31-46
2 - James 2:14-17
3 - John 13:34
4 - Shane Claiborne. The Irresistible Revolution. 2006, Zondervan.
5 - 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Ladybug photo by Jon Sullivan is public domain.


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