In the last few months, it feels as though the
somewhat typical headlines of world issues have radically expanded into
unthinkable evil, terrifying disease, and global turmoil. I'm left
wondering...from where does this heartache come and what could any one person
do to combat it?
This morning, I found a sweet reminder. In his
book, The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis writes:
The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid
“dens of crime” that Dickens loved to paint. It is not done even in
concentration camps and labour camps. In those we see its final result. But it
is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried, and minuted) in clean,
carpeted, warmed, and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and
cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voice.
Upon reading that excerpt, I was struck by the
realization that questioning my own ability to make a difference actually
hinders any action and results in an apathetic and stalwart attitude
- that of a quiet individual in a well-lighted office who once had grand
intentions to save the world but is far more comfortable in her uninterrupted
space. In that solitude, I can force myself to disconnect from the call on my
heart - to be here now, to love without fear, and to serve without condition.
We have been summoned into every corner. The clean
and shiny corners with brand new MacBooks and bottomless free coffee. The dark
corners filled with cobwebs and broken pencils, surrounded by lingering
remnants of a once vibrant school. Wherever we are, we're there on purpose - to
fulfill His call to love His people...all of His people.
