Living and Growing: It is it so easy not to see what we need to see
Published 12:15 am Monday, October 20, 2025
Our eyes are windows to the world. They show us everything. It is up to our brain to help us be selective in our vision. The brain filters through all the images and enables us to focus. When we see everything, we see nothing. For us, our typical vision problem is not seeing too much, but rather not seeing what we need to see. It’s interesting what we see—and what we don’t see!
Luke 16:19-31 is a story about a sore covered man (Lazarus) dying of starvation on the doorstep of someone for whom every meal is a feast. It is a story about enraging callousness, and an unjust distribution of wealth. After death, the rich man found himself in hell.
The poor man was in heaven with Abraham. Ironically, only then, did the rich man notice the poor man. The rich man pleaded with Abraham to send someone back to warn his rich brothers about their selective vision: their neglect of the poor. But Abraham reminded him what the Bible has to say about God’s great love for the poor and oppressed. Unfortunately the rich man’s new vision could not help him and his brothers.
It is so easy not to see what we need to see.
The rich man lived in a fantasy world. He thought the rich deserved what they had with no responsibility for the poor. He earned his wealth, so the poor deserve what they get. Such an attitude is common in today’s world. That is contrary to the heart of God. God’s great love crosses all racial, ethnic, financial and class boundaries.
Selective vision exists in our own community. The true underlying causes related to chronic homelessness are often overlooked. We want to believe all is well. But love of Jesus also involves love of truth. If the truth be known, there is a great deal of inequality between rich and poor. Misery is more a part of life in our community than we want to realize or see. Knowing the truth is a resource for equalizing us. Selective vision is segregating. It is unable to see what needs to be seen.
I often share about our daughter Tanya’s legacy and how our life experiences with her opened our minds to confront the unpleasant realities of life that we previously denied. Tanya was the “suffering Lazarus” in our lives, who moved us beyond our well-kept and well-ordered lives.
We were regrettably ignorant about the reality of Schizoaffective Disorder and FASD prior to her diagnosis. We had selective vision. Living in our own fantasy world believing that all a child needed to succeed in life was unconditional love and nurture. Tragically, Tanya died as a result of FASD, mental illness, systemic poverty, income inequality, systemic racism, inadequate social safety nets, failed policies, deinstitutionalization, etc.: the true underlying causes of her chronic homelessness.
For years we battled to keep her out of the grip of homelessness. As she descended into the shadow world of the unsheltered in Anchorage, we desperately toiled to furnish her with life-sustaining essentials, and built a network of clergy, emergency services, and a Crisis Intervention Anchorage police officer to help us locate and support her.
Tanya wanted us to hold her life up as an example to others to help all to see what needs to be seen.
May we reach out to those whom Jesus sees and we easily overlook. May we open our eyes to God’s love, and our love for others. May we hear, see and learn from the unpleasant facts of life we would like to deny. May a suffering Lazarus in our life get us beyond our well-kept and well-ordered lives, so we may be open to seeing God in the most unlikely places. May our eyes be opened to see what we need to see—through the eyes of Jesus.
Laura Rorem is a member of The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She writes to honor Pastor Larry Rorem’s legacy of love, compassion and understanding for all humankind, especially the most vulnerable, and Tanya Rorem’s legacy as one of the most vulnerable.
