To Save A Life

So I just had the wonderful privilege of being given the homework of having to watch and review a movie called "To Save A Life".  Some of you may have heard about it.

The movie, rated PG-13 for some real elements that teens these days go through, was a fantastic portrayal of a transformed life.  The whole point of the movie was to wake up the Christians to look around and see all the hurting people and DO SOMETHING.

In the movie, the main character's former best friend committed suicide.  The main character had allowed other people and things to pull him away from his friend and leave him alone to be bullied and rediculed.  In the end, the poor boy felt cornered and saw the barrel of a gun as his last way out.

You and I are social creatures.  We naturally gravitate towards others and instinctively desire fellowship.  Best friends are some of the greatest blessings in the world and that is because we are created to influence and be around others.

You are not on this earth for you.  And once you have allowed Jesus Christ lordship over your life, you're really not even there because He needs you either.  If your life as a Christian was just between you and God, then wouldn't it make sense for Him to sweep away into heaven the moment you enter into a relationship with Him?  But no, we remain on Earth.  To do what?  To connect with and impact people.

What people are you impacting?  What people do you pass every single day who are hurting and may be one step away from taking their life?  I think the better question would be: who are you neglecting?  That is probably a much bigger list.

We do not do the saving when it comes to sharing Jesus with others.  God does that work Himself.  But you and I are the arm that He uses to reach out to hurting people.  We are the hand of God.  He operates through His people.  Are you allowing yourself to be used by God to help others?  Or are you a handicapped part of the Body of Christ?  Are you not functioning as He has designed you to?

I felt a strong convinction as I watched this movie to really examine my life and the people that I see every day.  Have I grown comfortable with seeing the look of depression and pain on certain people's faces?  Have I settled with the sight of the same homeless people on the same intersections at the same time of every day?  Have I grown used to seeing that poor woman sitting outside the same gas station with tear-stained cheeks and hopeless eyes?  What am I doing here if not to help such people?

This life is not about you and me.  If you disagree, tough.  Its time all of us woke up to the pain and suffering that we live with.  Your neighbors are hurting, your co-workers are suicidal.  They may not be at work tomorrow.  Your family members are lost and are on their way to eternal fire.  Your friend may be a cutter.  That quiet kid you pass at school every day hates life and is planning to end his own soon...and maybe a few others as well.

These are examples of people that you and I look over so easily and so willingly!  Will you and I not stop for a moment to notice and love these people?  Simply inviting them to sit with you at lunch could save their life.  But you have to step out of the normal and be useable to God.

When you wake up tomorrow, there is someone you will come in contact with who needs you to notice them.  Someone whose life may depend on it.  Will you stand by silently as they draw closer to destruction?  They need the love of God and who will give it to them but the children of God?

Being a Christian is more than a label.  It is a lifestyle.  Let's live it.  Show love to someone.  Show God's heart to a hurting or needy person.  If you are failing to see those around you who need your attention, stop wasting space on this earth.  Let's all get in and help.  Life is not about us.