I couldn’t see the action. I could hear the crowd cheering so I knew something was happening on the court, but because I could not see what was happening, there was a disconnect. I was not engaged like my fellow spectators, because my seat was directly behind a structural concrete column in the old Boston Garden.
Nice view of the yellowish painted concrete; the basketball game, not so much.
This was back in the Larry Bird days of the Celtics in the early- to mid-1980s, and getting tickets was tough, if not impossible. So when my grandfather pulled some strings to get me a ticket, I was beyond excited. “There’s one catch,” he cautioned me. “They’re obstructed view seats.” Meaning, I’d get into the Garden for the game, but this column of concrete would block my line of sight to the court.
On game day, I dutifully went to my seat, but the column prevented me from seeing anything. The only way to be engaged with the action was to step away from the seat, and stand up somewhere else in the Garden during the entire game.
Many obstacles keep us from being engaged with Jesus, like pride, comfort, control, fear, doubt, busyness, power and so much more. And overcoming those obstacles requires a step of faith, a demonstration that we truly believe in Him; a step away from what we are used to or our preconceived notions of what we think an outcome will be. Overcoming those obstacles so we can see and experience what God is doing, and can do, requires us to move.
Christ rewards steps of faith we take so we can engage with Him.
Pride could have kept a Roman centurion from asking Jesus to heal his servant (Matthew 8:5-13).
Money and power could have prevented Matthew from becoming a disciple of Jesus (Matthew 9:9-13).
Fear could have stopped Peter from stepping out of the boat (Matthew 14:22-33).
Doubt actually did prevent Thomas from believing in the risen Lord (John 20:24-30).
Hebrews 11:6 says, “It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6, NLT). Pleasing and believing in and seeking Him requires us to overcome our own obstacles to fully connect with Him.
What obstacles are preventing you from engaging with Jesus?
Photo credit: fromthisseat.com.