Noticed

“but they do all their deeds to be noticed by men”  Matthew 23:5

Noticed – What did you ask your mirror this morning?  “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?”  Well, maybe you weren’t quite as bold as the queen in Snow White, but I would be surprised if you didn’t spend some time making sure that you looked just right.  Have you ever asked yourself why all of us do this?  Why are we so concerned with the mirror image?  Do you suppose that is has anything to do with wanting to be noticed?

I am often amazed at the opulence and flamboyance that I see in “Christian” events.  It seems that Christians have determined that the best way to spread the news is to look like the success models of the world.  Out come the diamonds, the gold, the fine materials and that look of polished perfection – all shouting “Look at me”.  It’s pretty difficult to see the passion of the Christ through the purple robes of human splendor.

Then I think about my own mirror, the one in my heart that is constantly vying for the “notice me” actions.  I’m no different than those apostles of success.  I just don’t have a television audience.  My heart is just as vulnerable to the “notice me” trap.  I don’t want to be invisible.  I want the credit (dare I say, the power and the glory).

This Greek word means a bit more than a passing glance.  Theaomai is the verb of perceiving with vivid concentration.  It is the “put on display” word.  And it’s not at all what Jesus endorses.  Those great churches and huge auditoriums filled with polished people might tout His name, but I suspect He would not be in the audience.  Jesus would be in the back hall, mopping floors.  Unnoticed.  Secretly performing God’s work.  Out of the limelight.

If you are His follower, you know that He calls us to be servants.  But servants are the non-existent people.  That’s why Jesus chose that metaphor.  In His day, servants didn’t count.  I am waiting for the moment when we have the next big “Christian” event and the janitor is the celebrity speaker.  I despair over another exhibit of the powerful and the successful as though they are real models of Christian service.  I want to hear from the one who knows God’s hand in the cancer ward, who serves in the soup kitchen, who is someone we never heard of. 

How about you?  Are you vying for attention in your “service”?  Or are you the nobody who knows Him?