I met a man named Henry.

That first day, I didn’t see Henry with the eyes of Christ. I saw a crusty, angry and mean-spirited old man. I saw a man who attempted to get in my face with his “stump” – a stump which was all that remained where his right leg used to be. And my confession to you is that it bothered me a lot. I felt ill at ease.

I saw Henry, and I looked away.

I spent several days with Henry while building a wheelchair ramp. It was during this time that he told me his story. He shared how his family fulfilled their obligations but that they really didn’t like him. He told me that everything in his life was going wrong. He confessed his loneliness.

Then something happened. Slowly I began to see Henry with the eyes of Christ. I saw a frightened elderly man, now facing his own mortality and loss of control over his own body. I saw the real Henry – a man made in the image of God, broken and aching to be seen and loved.

At the end of the last project workday, he rolled himself away in his wheelchair, down the ramp, and up the street. After he left, the Lord began to speak to my heart, calling me to pray with Henry. Throughout the two and a half days I was there, I had indeed prayed… for Henry, for the project and even for myself. Yet we had not spoken of spiritual matters. I was afraid of looking like a fool if he were to say no my request to pray with him.

Henry returned. And with trembling hands and shaking knees, I was obedient. I lowered onto one knee before him and prayed. While my eyes were closed, I felt my hands getting wet. I looked up to find the crusty, weary old man weeping.

“I never felt loved by God until right now,” Henry said.

What an amazing God we serve! Having set us free by grace, He calls and empowers us to go forth and be His hands and feet. He gives us ears to hear and eyes to see… to see with the eyes of Christ. To see our neighbors with the same love given freely by our Lord.

And then, with our small and imperfect ways, he allows us the gift of sharing His incredible love with the Henry’s of the world around us.