A Lens on the World

As we finish up this week of thinking about social justice in the workplace, it's worth remembering that when Jesus found himself faced with thousands of hungry people, he didn't address the whole crowd, asking everyone to start looking for food. He chose one small boy, and asked him to share his lunch. He understood that big things begin in small ways, and that crowds are less important than the people that compose them. He didn't feed a crowd; he fed people.

We tend to live our lives trying to take it all in at once, to do it all at once. We can worry so much about juggling all of our responsibilities that we forget our most important responsibility: to serve God and love the people He puts in our lives. This is not about performance; it's about faithfulness, presence, and relationship. So if you're struggling to "fit it all in," maybe take a second and focus on what—or, more importantly, who—is right in front of you.

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Transcript: Lucas Fairchild was an amateur photographer. He was in Africa at an outdoor event that some estimated had drawn a million people. Looking across a hillside amphitheater, Lucas saw an ocean of humanity . . . faces receding into infinity. He wanted to capture the moment on film—but no camera could take in the huge crowd.

Lucas turned to a professional photographer and said: "How do you take a picture of a million people?" The photographer said, "You can't. You take a close-up of one person and let the crowd blur."

This is Howard Butt, Jr., of Laity Lodge. No one can take in the entire world. But with each person we know well, we enlarge our picture of the world—and of ourselves—in the high calling of our daily work.

My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God;
on behalf of a man he pleads with God as a man pleads for his friend.
(Job 16:20-21)