I Saw A Beggar Today

How we see others will affect how we see ourselves. How we see ourselves will affect how we see others. How we see Christ will determine how we see everyone.

The road of life is littered with the scattered pieces of men who lived their lives in pride, arrogance, and self-centeredness. Only a gaze into the heavens can protect us from the same lonely fate. Just one glimpse into the face of Jesus can save us from the destruction of pride. We must see ourselves properly.

After reflecting on this, I grabbed my pen and wrote this free verse poem:

The Painter

One day, a man who was a painter approached me. He was covered with specks of paint that had splattered on his face, clothing, and hands. He was an older gentleman–socially quiet and observant. He was also a reader of philosophy. Few would know it, but his portfolio of reading was filled with old and modern views of life, meaning, and eternity. All of the vast reading he had done had failed to answer the big questions of life. His soul was restless and he was intent on finding answers.

As we began talking, I realized the exposure he had to various philosophies. He was trying to bring them together into a cohesive understanding of existence and life. This search was weighing heavy on his mind. We engaged in discussion about the many philosophers he had studied. I listened and then discussed the self-defeating arguments these men gave in their writings.

Once he realized the truth of what I shared, he asked me how I saw things. I simply pointed him to the message of the gospel, lifted up Jesus Christ as the ultimate reality and answer to life, and answered his various questions. The scales fell from his eyes and he surrendered his life to Christ. Through faith, he stepped into a relationship with the Lord. He saw the majestic beauty of the life, death, burial, and resurrection of the Lamb of God.