This special edition looks at real people in the news.

SINCE YOU ASKED
Today’s post is unique. It departs from my normal format and subject matter. It goes beyond the “news” to the real people in the stories. My purpose is to remind us all that it’s all about the people, not ideologies, strategies, victories, or defeats. Without real people with real lives, the news is meaningless. It’s so easy to reduce news reports to raw facts and statistics. In the case of a disaster, we regret that people were killed, but it usually doesn’t go further than that…until someone digs into the lives of the victims- real people with real lives. Take the recent bombing in Jerusalem for example. We were told that one person died in the explosion. I recently learned something about that victim that made the story so much more personal.

Woman who died in bombing

The lady who died was a Christian Zionist who loved the Chosen People and the land of Israel. Mary Gardner was 55 years old. Originally from the Orkney Isles, north of Scotland, she was in Israel to study at the Hebrew University. Her desire was to learn Hebrew in order to translate the Old Testament for the people of Togo, where she worked as a missionary with Wycliffe Bible Translators. Orkney Islands Councilman James Stockan said, “Mary was a brave, tenacious lady whose incredible achievements in translating and teaching the Bible and putting the local dialect into print for the people of Togo were immense. My thoughts are with her family at this difficult time.”

Let’s switch gears to a story about an incredible invention-a flying car. The story is fascinating. It’s even more fascinating when you learn who the inventor is and what inspired him. Thanks to my good friend, Phil Grubb, who sent this to me. I am indebted to friends like Phil who forward to me amazing stories like this one. Click here and watch the video.

AS I SEE IT
This post is a reminder that we are to invest our lives in people, not causes. Isn’t that just what Jesus did when He walked the earth? He was all about pouring His life into people. He really cared about people. He wanted them to experience the abundant life He came to bring. Those of us who are Christians have been called to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. This means that we are to live every day in the truth that we have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer we who live. It is Christ living His life through us. The old “us” died on the cross with Christ. The only “us’ that’s left is Christ in us, operating through our personality with the aid of our body. However, Jesus can use these only to the extent of our availability.

Jesus wants to continue His ministry to hurting people, but He can’t do it without us. We are His arm, legs, ears, and mouth. As someone has said, we may be the only Jesus some people will ever see. Let’s look below the surface to the real people the Lord has brought into our lives, letting Jesus minister to them…through us. And when we watch the news, let’s not forget the real people behind the stories.

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