Jesus and Bikinis

 We had been out on the lake jet skiing all morning and the gas tanks were getting low.  So we dropped off our wives at the dock and headed across the lake to get some gas.  When we got across the lake, I followed Chris and pulled up behind him along side the gas dock.  What happened next was probably one of the most profound spiritual experiences I have ever had.

Chris is a dear brother in Christ who has ministered to me time and time again.  Whenever Kathie and I get together with he and his wife, Deborah, God shows up and I go away feeling loved and refreshed.  So far that weekend had been no exception, lots of good fellowship with a wholesome blend of deep spiritual talks and lighthearted laughter.

We were just two godly men down at the lake for a little R & R with the women we loved.  So, what’s a guy supposed to do when a gorgeous young woman comes out of the boat house walking directly towards him with nothing on but what would generously be called a bikini?

As she walked down the dock towards us I admit she definitely got my attention.  Chris had pulled up to the dock first and was just in front of me.  She brought the gas line over to his jet ski first.  Chris did what every godly man has been taught to do in a situation like this.  He “bounced” his eyes and looked the other way.  She was on his left, but he worked hard to look away to his right without making a big deal of it.  I watched as Chris tried to be polite and make small talk with her, but each time he would turn to respond to her questions, his eyes would be confronted with a whole lot more than a man is supposed to see, and he would have to “bounce” his eyes again and look the other way.

I could feel my brother’s embarrassment in the situation and I knew that I was next.  Feelings of shame and guilt began to attack me.  Then something happened.  I started to get mad.  I thought to myself, “wait a minute, it’s not our fault.  We weren’t doing anything wrong.  We were having a perfectly good weekend spending time with our families and God.”  The more I thought about it, the madder I got.  Why should we have to hang our heads and look the other way like we have done something wrong?

Since God lives in me, I decided to ask Him what He would do in this situation.  I asked Him, “Lord what is the right thing for me to do.  How do you want me to respond to this situation?”  I then prayed, “Lord help me to see what you see, so that I can feel what you feel, so that I will think what you think, so that I can do what you would in this situation.”

As I prayed that prayer, God opened my eyes to really see this young woman.  As I now looked directly at her, I saw a whole lot more than her golden tan skin.  He drew my attention to her belly button ring.  I decided to confront the situation head on.  As she walked over towards me, I asked her if it hurt when they pierced her belly button.  She explained that it hurt more than she had ever imagined it would.  She then shared with me that she was getting her tongue pierced the next week.  I asked her if she didn’t think that was going to hurt.  She responded, “I suppose so, but I guess I am just young and stupid.”  I shared with her that one of those two things would take care of itself with time, but that the other would require some decisions on her part.”

As we were talking, God began to open my eyes to what He saw when He looked at this young woman.  I now saw a hurting little girl who was so desperate for affirmation and approval that she was willing to flirt with and expose herself to what at best could be described as two middle-aged, married men that were twice her age.  I saw a hurting little girl who was so desperate for love and attention that she was willing to experience excruciating pain and let someone drill holes in her stomach and tongue.

As I began to see this young woman in this new way, something stirred inside of me.  It was Father’s Heart giving me a father’s heart.  I admit it, when she first came out of the boathouse she caught me off guard and I did not have the purest of thoughts.  But now that I was looking at her through Father’s Eyes, my heart was filled with a father’s love and compassion that just wanted to take a great big beach towel and wrap it around her, hold her, and let her know that she was loveable and likeable and that she didn’t have to do all of this to get love and attention.

Where do you suppose Jesus looked when he was talking to the woman at the well?  Do you think He bounced His eyes away and looked at the ground?  Or do you think He looked directly into her eyes with eyes full of love and compassion that let her know that she was loveable and likeable and that she had great value?

The Christian world has been very focused on WWJD (What Would Jesus Do).  But if we are going to effectuate real change in our lives, rather than a futile attempt at a forced behavioral change, we are going to have to focus on What Would Jesus See (WWJS).

We don’t get what we want by focusing on what we don’t want.  For example, if we focus on not seeing something with our physical eyes, we will see it with our minds eyes.  It is like the man who has a pornography addiction that keeps saying to himself, “Don’t think about pornography, don’t think about pornography, don’t think about pornography.”  What is he ultimately going to think about?  Pornography!  We need to focus our minds on what we do want, not on what we don’t want.

Real life change doesn’t come from “gutting it out” by focusing on changing our behavior each time we encounter a certain situation.  After all, what do you suppose men are seeing in their minds’ eye as they look the other way?  I am not saying that we shouldn’t guard our hearts and be careful what we allow ourselves to see or hear or experience.  But what I am saying is that real and lasting life change comes as we are transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we no longer see things in the same way.  Once we see things differently, we will act differently.

What we see leads us to feel a certain way, which leads us to think a certain way, which leads us to act a certain way.  The earlier we intervene in this process, the easier it is to change the outcome.  It’s very hard to stop a freight train once it picks up momentum.

“Lord, help me to see what you see, so that I will feel what you feel, so that I will think what you think, so that I will do what you want me to do.”  It starts with what we see.  What Would Jesus See in your situation?

Jim Hobson