Northbrook has always had a heart to reach out. One of the many things I love about this church is that we are not satisfied with singing a few songs, hearing a sermon and being a part of a life group. We are a church that shares our lives with the world; we partner with our brothers and sisters here in our own community and around the world.

God is in the margins. He’s working among those who need him. He is working in the places we don’t see, that we don’t even think about. And he’s inviting us to join him.

John 4:35

“I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.”

The first thing we need to do is open our eyes. If we would just look, I think many of us would act. I know I’m guilty of looking the other way when I encounter a homeless person, someone in real need. I know I look away many times because if I really looked I may be moved to act. And I just don’t have the time, the energy, or the desire to get involved.

But God is already involved. And he’s asking me to get involved. So I need to look.

It’s easy to see all the pain and need around us. We just have to look. There are spiritual needs right here in our church. There are emotional needs in our community. There are physical needs all over our world. It doesn’t take a pair of binoculars or a microscope to find them. It just takes opening our eyes.

There’s a story in the tenth chapter of Mark. Jesus is busy. He’s on his way to Jerusalem and he’s got a lot on his plate. He has to make plans for the Passover, which would be the last supper he eats with his disciples. He needs to get in and out of the city during the day, teaching the people and admonishing the religious. But he also has to keep a bit of a low profile. He knows there are many out to get him and it’s this week that he’ll finally give in and lay down his life.

So he’s busy with a lot on his mind. And as he gets closer to Jerusalem he has to pass through an old city, Jericho. And here’s what happens.

Mark 10:46-52

⁴⁶ Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. ⁴⁷ When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

That scene is so easy to picture. Mark does a great job giving us the details. Long line of people following Jesus. The weight of the world on his shoulders. They go through Jericho and here’s someone wanting some of Jesus’ valuable time.

⁴⁸ Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

God, I hope I wouldn’t have been one of the many who rebuked him. But every time I turn my eyes away from the needs around me I know I am. I’m rebuking those who are in need.

They tried to shut this guy up. He was already on the side of the road, easy to ignore for most passing by. Easy to just let your eyes go right on past him. But he didn’t let up.

When we can’t see the needs around us, are we at least listening to their cries?

⁴⁹ Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” ⁵⁰ Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

⁵¹ “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.

The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”

⁵² “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

I love that this story has a happy ending. But I know that’s not the case for everyone. “What do you want?” is such an easy question to ask. And if we just asked it of those in need around us, I’m sure there’s something we could do.

God loves the world. God loves our world. We, his church, are the intentional plan of a loving God for his world. We are the way he loves the world. The first step is to open our eyes to the needs around us.

Why is it so easy to make fun of people taking selfies? Why are people holding selfie-sticks, trying to get the right lighting and the perfect angle, such easy targets? I think because we all understand that selfies are – in some way – a worship of self.

Not always. You can take a selfie with your family at the holidays to let everyone know how much you love grandma’s house! You can take a selfie with your significant other to celebrate an anniversary, take a selfie at work to talk about how much you love your job, or take a selfie at church to tell the world how great your pastor is. If that’s the case, then selfies are always allowed at Northbrook.

But there is a feeling that when you take a selfie, you’re consumed with self. How you look, how others see you, what others think about you. And that obsession with self is really worship. We worship ourselves, whether we’re clicking the camera on our phones or not.

In Exodus 32 we find some people worshiping. First of all, Moses is worshiping. He’s been on the mountain top for 40 days. Just him and God. And his worship experience has changed him.

But when he comes down the mountain he finds some other worshipers. Instead of godly worship it’s selfish worship. In a word, it’s idolatry. They’ve taken their gold jewelry, cast it into a fire, and formed it into a calf. A cow. They worshiped a cow? Holy cow!

But what they were really worshiping was themselves. We reflect what we worship. Moses was reflecting God, but the Israelites were reflecting themselves. And it led to some very self-indulging and self-destructive behavior.

But when we worship God, we have the opportunity to reflect his glory.

2 Corinthians 3:18

¹⁸ And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

When we worship God, we are gazing into his presence and connecting with his essence, his glory. We are being transformed into his image. It’s not through careful living and following all his rules. It’s not by erasing as much of our past as we can. It’s about throwing all of ourselves into him and letting him establish and strengthen us in Christ.

I know that not every selfie is self-worship. But how often do we allow what others think of us affect how we live our lives? Instead, let’s allow what God thinks about us to change us, transform us. When God roots us in his love and faith, we don’t have to find fulfillment in how many likes our next selfie gets.