Caught Up or Freed Up

As we concluded our Simple Faith series yesterday, we featured a song by Keith Urban called "Everybody."

Maybe I've been too caught up
To see what you've been going through
All that I can say is that I'm here now

Everybody needs somebody sometimes...

These lyrics, taken from the bridge and chorus of the song, gripped me as I prepared to sing them last week. When it comes to loving our neighbor (or perhaps loving anyone), one of our greatest obstacles is past failure. How do you start loving someone when you have a track record of conspicuously not loving them? It feels like you're only highlighting your own past failure by suddenly changing. "Better late than never" sounds like a hollow and embarrassing excuse. For most of us, I think, just leaving things the way they are is a much more comfortable option, but it has consequences.

I have a friend whose parents divorced when she was two years old. Her father was not a part of her life growing up; she hasn't actually seen him since she was twelve. Now an adult with a family of her own, she has attempted to help her father connect with his daughter, son-in-law and beautiful grandchildren, but those attempts have met with resistance. The reason? To the father, these people are painful reminders of a past failure. The healing, restoration, and joy that would come from these relationships are blocked by the fear and discomfort of facing the past. He's destined to repeat his offenses by continuing to run away from them. As the song says, he's "too caught up" to see beyond himself, and it hurts him and his family.

While all our relationships are not as crucial as that of a father and daughter, any relationship has at least the potential to be so, and no relationship is without its affects. Jesus said, "If anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is known to be my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly be rewarded." (Matthew 10:42 TNIV) Even the smallest step in the right direction breaks the hold of the past and opens a door to a better future. Will the guy in the cubicle next to yours wonder why you're inviting him to lunch when you haven't spoken two words to him in years? Probably. Will your estranged neighbor wonder why, after all this time, you now decide to walk across the street and talk? Yep. Sometimes all you can say is, "I'm here now." If you do, you may be surprised how easy it is for both of you to let go of the awkward past.

Don't settle for "caught up." Life is better if it's freed up: freed up to engage the people around us, freed up to discover their stories and let God use the relationship to change both lives.

This week resolve, with God's help, to break free in a relationship that is "caught up." Engage a neighbor or co-worker that you have not engaged. Break an old habit of overlooking someone you see relgularly. Christians stepped in when my friend's parents stepped out and it changed her life. So step in!