The Omelet
This morning I woke up with a lot of things to think about. It was a strange dream, as most dreams are, but it was convicting.
In my dream, I was in a really busy restaurant, and I was apparently friends with the girl who was running it. I was there to spend time with friends who were eating there, but also talking to my friend who was running the restaurant, between her rushing around, taking care of customers. Then a younger guy came in who looked homeless, and maybe not all there, mentally. He had really thick glasses, messy hair, and dirty clothes, and he came over to where the restaurant girl and I were talking with our friends. He asked if Amy could make him an omelet. Amy was apparently the main help for my friend, Restaurant Girl, and did a lot of the cooking, but she was in class for the afternoon. At first Restaurant Girl seemed kind of rude to Homeless Man.
"Why do you always ask for Amy? You must really like her, or something," she said with a sigh, and shaking her head. Just then some customers needed help, so she rushed off, giving me a look that asked me to take care of this situation. I did not really know what to do--I felt awkward and on-the-spot. So I made some excuses about how I did not really know how to cook an omelet very well, and Amy was in class, and...then I just sort of ignored him and continued talking to my friends. Homeless Man quietly shuffled out of the room. As I watched him leave, I noticed a few other friends across the room, and I could tell they had seen what had happened. I knew that they thought I should help Homeless Man, and that if I didn't, they might get up and try to help. So of course I wanted to save face, so I left to go find Homeless Man. I found him in another empty dining room in the restaurant. Restaurant Girl was sitting with him at a small table, carefully feeding him a pancake. The man apparently also must have had some kind of disability, and could not feed himself very well, so she was carefully giving him one bite at a time.
Suddenly I felt terrible, and I could see myself for who I was. I asked if I could still make an omelet, even though I wasn't very good at it, but the girl said, "It's ok, this is enough," with a smile, and turned back to feeding her guest. I knew she was busy, but I realized this was more important to her, and when she had seen that I wasn't going to do it, she had put aside her work so she could give this man something to eat. It wasn't Amy. It wasn't an omelet. But Homeless Man seemed satisfied. As I was waking up, I realized that Homeless Man was her brother. And it all made sense.
After I woke up, I opened my Bible and read this:
"So God has put the body together in such a way that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other equally. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. Now all of you together are Christ's body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it." 1 Cor. 12:24-29 (NLT)
The ones I am uncomfortable serving are the ones who should probably be given the most honor and care. That is the way Jesus' kingdom works, and the way His Body, the Church, should work. We are most like Jesus when we realize Homeless Man is our brother, and take care of him as if he really were.
Convicting. I still have a lot to think about.
In my dream, I was in a really busy restaurant, and I was apparently friends with the girl who was running it. I was there to spend time with friends who were eating there, but also talking to my friend who was running the restaurant, between her rushing around, taking care of customers. Then a younger guy came in who looked homeless, and maybe not all there, mentally. He had really thick glasses, messy hair, and dirty clothes, and he came over to where the restaurant girl and I were talking with our friends. He asked if Amy could make him an omelet. Amy was apparently the main help for my friend, Restaurant Girl, and did a lot of the cooking, but she was in class for the afternoon. At first Restaurant Girl seemed kind of rude to Homeless Man.
"Why do you always ask for Amy? You must really like her, or something," she said with a sigh, and shaking her head. Just then some customers needed help, so she rushed off, giving me a look that asked me to take care of this situation. I did not really know what to do--I felt awkward and on-the-spot. So I made some excuses about how I did not really know how to cook an omelet very well, and Amy was in class, and...then I just sort of ignored him and continued talking to my friends. Homeless Man quietly shuffled out of the room. As I watched him leave, I noticed a few other friends across the room, and I could tell they had seen what had happened. I knew that they thought I should help Homeless Man, and that if I didn't, they might get up and try to help. So of course I wanted to save face, so I left to go find Homeless Man. I found him in another empty dining room in the restaurant. Restaurant Girl was sitting with him at a small table, carefully feeding him a pancake. The man apparently also must have had some kind of disability, and could not feed himself very well, so she was carefully giving him one bite at a time.
Suddenly I felt terrible, and I could see myself for who I was. I asked if I could still make an omelet, even though I wasn't very good at it, but the girl said, "It's ok, this is enough," with a smile, and turned back to feeding her guest. I knew she was busy, but I realized this was more important to her, and when she had seen that I wasn't going to do it, she had put aside her work so she could give this man something to eat. It wasn't Amy. It wasn't an omelet. But Homeless Man seemed satisfied. As I was waking up, I realized that Homeless Man was her brother. And it all made sense.
After I woke up, I opened my Bible and read this:
"So God has put the body together in such a way that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other equally. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. Now all of you together are Christ's body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it." 1 Cor. 12:24-29 (NLT)
The ones I am uncomfortable serving are the ones who should probably be given the most honor and care. That is the way Jesus' kingdom works, and the way His Body, the Church, should work. We are most like Jesus when we realize Homeless Man is our brother, and take care of him as if he really were.
Convicting. I still have a lot to think about.
Well said...the dream was a little weird...but at least you got a good lesson from it.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me that Jesus treats everyone with loving respect and He wants me to do the same, since I am His follower, He is my Lord.
ReplyDelete