Looking Into Their Eyes

I have seen some pitiful folks in my time. It is not the ragged clothes I see or their crippled limbs, but their eyes that give me a glimpse of their misery and hopelessness. I believe every person was granted to exist by God; this in itself makes me know that there is dignity in every life.

Many choose to take a path that is not God’s best, but some seem to have it thrust upon them by poverty, abuse, sickness, or where they were born. I have come to know with more awareness and certainty of the dignity of every human being. I know Christ loves them just as He loved the women He saved from a stoning, the demoniac He delivered from legions of demons, and even my wretched soul.

Too many times, I have watched the poor fellows pulling the bouèt (rugged Haitian wheelbarrow) in the streets of Haiti. The bouèt is usually pulled not pushed. It has two full-size tires which all seem to wobble and the long handles are grasped from the underside with the cradle of the elbow and over the top to the hands. These men lean forward in their struggle, pulling a load that would fill a small pickup.

My heart goes out to them. It is very difficult work and if employed for much of their lives, surely it leads to an early death. They haul anything someone will pay them to transport. The men who pull these loads wear cheap plastic sandals and some are barefoot. When you look into their eyes, they are usually dull from their constant weariness and “Is this all there is?” Maybe my heart breaks for their heart, because their heart has already died and resigned itself to the fate of a slave though they are hired by money.

Years ago on the streets of an Asian country, in the middle of a traffic snarl, the appearance of beggars swooped upon the opportunity to beg a few bills. They would ask with an outstretched hand and lonely eyes, pausing briefly for a possible small gift and then move on. Coming through the cars, an odd looking beggar dressed in women’s apparel caught my attention as the beggars were typically men, but then I noticed this too was a man. I could tell from the build, gait of his walk, and masculine facial features. It was rare to see such a person in this conservative culture.

I was sitting on the passenger front seat when the beggar approached the driver’s window with a forlorn look. Briefly our eyes met and Holy Spirit allowed me to see through his eyes and into the pain of his life. I could see by the dull of his eyes that he was hopeless, dejected, lonely, and un-loved. I will never forget the deep brown well of despair in his eyes. I wanted to give him hope in Jesus instead of a crumpled monetary note. Our hired driver gave him a handout and then he moved to the next car.

Closer to home, I have sat across the table in a small Alabama city jail talking to the inmates who are dressed in orange and white and some in green and white. Most are young men under thirty-five and with an assortment of tattoos and trouble. They are young but look too old in a weird way. They have lived too hard, too fast with too many bad decisions. I look past the cockiness in some, disinterest in a few, to see the desperation in their eyes.

They have that look of, this is my fate. They are surrounded by a secure wall, yet their greatest wall is the one in their hearts and minds. I relish the opportunity for this gray-haired father to tell my young listeners that they can have hope. More life to live than they have lived, and yes, they can turn it around with Jesus. They can stop this craziness and allow Jesus to deliver them from sin’s destruction and chaos.

We are commanded by God to love our neighbors as ourselves. We can never do this by looking away or by looking with eyes of a judge. We can’t just look at tattered clothes, cheap plastic sandals, jail house garb, or business men’s suits. We must look into their eyes.

We must look into their eyes with spiritual clarity to see past their craziness and see them as what they could be redeemed by God. When Jesus was confronted by the demoniac with a naked body, oozing cuttings, matted hair, and glazed eyes, He saw beyond the horrific. Jesus loved him, and foresaw a man sitting, clothed, and in his right mind. When we look past the obvious and peer into the miraculous, we are looking with the eyes of Jesus into the redemption of those who others ignore and scorn. If we look with the eyes of Jesus, we may be surprised in what we see!

"And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'” 
Matthew 25:40 NKJV

“Jesus, please help me to see as You see. Never let me become distracted by my own blessings to not see the needs of others. Never let me get too comfortable with my own salvation to not see the lostness of others. I need your help to look into the gateway of the soul–the eyes of my fellow travelers on this planet. Many are silent with their mouths, but their eyes are screaming. Help me to hear what I am seeing.”

On the Journey with Jesus,

Harry L. Whitt