"Freaks and Gawkers"

Ok, so I’m walking down the boardwalk of Venice beach the other day and enjoying the sites (people watching). For those of you that don’t know anything about Venice beach it’s pretty much a no holds barred area that hosts vendors all along the boardwalk. Some very established with their own storefront, some just a table and chair, while others walk around hocking what they’ve got. It’s also a great place to catch some pretty cool street performers, dancers, singers wrappers, glass walkers, etc… Mix that with professional panhandlers that even have their begging down to a science (For example: The man wearing wine bottle sunglasses holding a sign that says “worlds greatest wino”, or the group holding a sign that says “Help keep grass on the boardwalk donate now”) Combine all of that with “Muscle Beach” and you have Venice beach. Of course as you walk up and down this particular stretch of the boardwalk you see all types of people, Homeless, skateboarders, psychics, potheads, bodybuilders, alcoholics, hip hop artists, tourists, etc…) Really you can divide all of these groups into two different categories “Freaks” and “gawkers”. Now I use the term Freaks only because this is the phrase I so commonly hear others use when talking about Venice Beach they are the performers putting on a show for the Gawkers and in many cases making a nice little living doing it. You see the gawkers love to come to the beach to watch and laugh and ultimately feel better about who they are. The Freaks know this is what’s happening and have learned to exaggerate an effect for gain. Personally I like to call them Caricatures. Why? Because I believe they are in real life just who they claim to be at Venice Beach they’ve just learned how to exaggerate it. The sad thing. I noticed an overwhelming number of almost every type of person you can imagine except one. I didn’t see any “Christ Followers” I have seen that caricature in the past (The Jesus bus, The street corner barker) and maybe there are one or two on the beach and I just missed them. I was there but I would be more in the “Gawker” category. Suddenly my heart really begins to hurt for these people they are so lost. How can we reach them? Then I realize what I’ve been talking about, what is happening in Venice beach is everywhere it’s just that anywhere else we are not willing to be that caricature. It’s hidden, in Venice beach they hide nothing! I spend the day trying to process this information and decide what to do with it. When I join a friend and her family to go to the BIG Halloween party in W Hollywood. While we are there it’s Venice Beach times 100. Wow is this crazy! Shannessy and I are walking and talking about what we are seeing and I begin to tell her about what I’ve been processing. Her brain had pretty much begun the same thing (I just got a head start). I asked something along the lines of what do we do? How do we respond? I was overwhelmed not seeing any sort of answer and realizing that this was a caricature of what’s happening everywhere. When a light went on in her head. I was thinking of “The Grand Scheme” when she excitedly said “We be light” No big plan, no making ourselves a “Christ Caricature” just plain and simple “Be Light” in this world wherever you are. Is that enough? Of course it is! Jesus is light (One man) look what happened around him. He’s permanently marked in history because of it. Every time we use the year we are talking about him (B.C. now it’s A.D.) Look at Matt 5:14 – 16 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to “ALL” that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven.” My friends it is time for us to be light to stand on a Lampstand (Use the gifts God has given you) and declare the light. Otherwise it’s common sense. The less we shine our light the darker the world will be. I don’t know but maybe that is one of the reasons Jesus in Mark 8: 38 says “For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the son of man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his father with the Holy angels” If we are ashamed to admit we love him how can we possibly be light in this world. I would like to leave with this question. Is there any reason to not shine the Light of Christ other than being ashamed? I can’t really think of one.