Lent for the Outcast

@audreycfrank

Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. (John 9:35-38)

The tender picture of Jesus seeking and finding the outcast here is breathtaking. 

There are those during this season of Lent who have been outcast because of their faith in Jesus. Yet they stand courageous and humble, declaring boldly their belief in the Son of Man, no matter what they have given up.

Many of us give up rich food or pleasure during Lent. We search our hearts and center our thinking on penitence and Christ’s obedience. I have to actually think long and hard about what I will choose to give up in order to exercise my faith on a deeper level during this season. But I cannot forget those who have no such privilege of thoughtful, selective choice.

Our brothers and sisters around the world who are outcast because of their faith give up mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, friends. They lose homes and communities. Some lose their children. Others lose respect and the right to be paid for work. 

But I do not see them groveling in self-pity. I see them worshiping.

Hajar lost her home and profession, all of her possessions to terrorists who targeted followers of Jesus in her city. But she stands in the rubble and when asked what she needs, she replies with a beaming face, “Nothing. I have Jesus. He is everything.”

Ahmed lost his parents, his siblings, and his childhood when he was kidnapped from his village at age nine and forced to become a soldier. He has now exchanged his rifle for a well-worn Bible and traverses the scrubby hills teaching about Jesus. When asked what he needs, he answers, “Pray for more to know the great love of the Messiah.” He has forgotten himself, his needs.

Maryam was forced to watch as her father, uncles, and brothers were shot for being infidels. She and her female relatives were then loaded into trucks and place in slavery. Today, she is free from her captors. With a miraculous smile, she arrives each week to study the Word of God and learn more about her Savior. When asked what she needs, she says, “Jesus has given me all I need.”

How? How can this be possible?

How can the blind man of John 9, an outcast since birth, one shamed and ostracized by his community, now outcast because of his testimony about Jesus, worship?

How can Hajar, Ahmed, and Maryam smile and forget themselves, hearts brimming with praise after all they have lost? What have they learned from the giving up that we have not yet discovered?

Jesus pursues the outcast. When He finds them, He draws near and sits long, quietly giving them the greatest gift of Lent: Himself. Belief wells up in response, and worship overflows.

The outcast brave enough to believe knows the secret to life: Jesus is enough. #Lent #faith Click To Tweet

Jesus offers the gift of Himself to each of us, no matter our Lent story. He asks you and me the most crucial question we will ever answer: Do you believe? If we believe, we will find that He is enough no matter what we must give up.

Lord, I believe. And You are enough.

Lord Jesus, draw near and speak tenderly to my brothers and sisters around the world who have given up everything for you this Lent season. Amen.