Something has taken hold of my heart, and I cannot let it go; I cannot shake it, nor do I want to. The memory of what I saw runs through my mind constantly. I saw “The Boys Under the Trees.” Now that I have seen it, I cannot unsee it in my heart and mind. My Heavenly Father never wants me to forget it—after all, He allowed me to see it, and this was for a reason and for this season.

I know many of you are probably thinking, “What on earth are you talking about, Dane?” What is “The boys under the trees? “ Well, let me explain.

About 3 weeks ago, I went to watch a secondary school’s football game between St. Benedict’s and Naparima College. For those of you who know, Naparima’s ground has an inclined slope with trees that provide shade while watching the game. I decided to take my perch at this location to obtain a higher vantage point while watching the game.

There is a hole in the fence at this location that allows people to enter without paying the small entrance fee. While I watched the game from there, more and more young and old men were sneaking through the hole to enjoy the football. 

I was constantly watching the game and the young men as the crowd grew from a trickle into a flood. They were smoking weed, wearing their pants below their waists, sporting white vests, and, in my opinion, seeming to lack direction and purpose. Some might say, “Dane, you are judging people.” To this, I would respond, “No, I am not.” If I see someone dressed as a Police Officer or a Nurse and walk up to them on the street, is it fair to assume their clothing reflects who they are? While there may be exceptions, how we dress is important because it shows who we are and what we portray.

So why are these boys so important, and why did they affect me so deeply? It’s because my heart literally aches for them. I kept asking, Lord, what can I do to help them? How can I guide them onto a better path? How can I show them your purpose in their lives? Lord, if no one tells them about you, how will they know? Someone has to speak; someone needs to step into their space and be a conduit through whom God can work for their behalf. The big question is: who will be the voice that speaks to them and intercedes for them? Everyone needs that type of person in their life.

The thoughts of these boys constantly entered my mind, making me question my life’s purpose. Have you ever had an observation break your heart? An observation that compels you to jump into action and say, “Lord, what more can I do to help”? Well, this happened to me when I gazed upon the boys from under the trees.

The Bible says that from the abundance of your heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34). I am going to use liberties here and expand on this and say, “Out of the abundance of the heart the eyes seeth”. This is to say, our eyes gravitate towards what is found in our hearts and illuminates it back the way we conjured it. For example:

“If you are a Botanist, and you look at a forest, you see ecosystems. If you are an environmentalist, you see conservation. If you are a businessperson, you see revenue by selling lumber. If you are an outdoors person, you see hiking trails and places to camp”. This is why I said, “the abundance of your heart, your eyes seeth”.

God’s words declare the harvest is ripe, but the laborers are few (Matthew 9:37-38), and we know God’s word is true and He cannot lie. So, if the harvest is ripe, why aren’t we picking the fruit rather than letting it rot? Well, because we do not have enough laborers, right? The lack of laborers is letting the fruit of men’s lives fall to the ground, and this is displeasing God.

The reason we are not picking fruit is that we are not seeing any fruit. Imagine a farmer looking over acres of land, covered with fruit trees that are heavily laden, and he doesn’t move a muscle to pick any. He simply goes about his business unbothered. You and I would say he is an irresponsible farmer, and the act of not picking fruit is a serious neglect of duty, worthy of losing his job. But you and I are farmers in the Lord’s vineyard, so I have to ask: How is our fruit basket looking from the harvest? Okay, this year might have been tough, but what about last year or the year before? Does our fruit basket (🍎 🍌 🍊 🍉) have anything in it except dust? Now that is a question to ponder on deeply!

Why are we not seeing fruit? Maybe it’s because our hearts are not loving enough to notice when we gaze. Why isn’t our heart loving enough? It could be because the love of the Holy Spirit isn’t shed abroad in our hearts as much as we think (Romans 5:5). Why isn’t the Holy Spirit shed abroad in our hearts? Perhaps it’s because we are not cultivating a daily walk with God. Why aren’t we cultivating a daily walk with God? Because our hearts are hard and we are a stiff-necked people! It always comes back to our heart condition.

Just this week, I was speaking to a friend of mine who worked in Port of Spain (the Capital of Trinidad and Tobago) for about 7 years. She was telling me that only this week, for the first time, she saw so many homeless and destitute persons walking around. She said she felt so sad about the situation, but was also shocked by how clearly she is now seeing for the first time after this considerable time. You know why? The eyes of her heart to see in that area have now been opened. Those who have eyes to see, let them see.

Guys, I need to revisit the story of the Good Samaritan, when all the so-called holy and righteous people left the injured man alone to die. It was a Samaritan (a people disliked by the Jews) who reached out to help the man on the side of the road. The good Samaritan gave him both a handout and a hand-up. In this regard, I would like to say that I pray all of us develop the Samaritan’s heart and the Samaritan’s eyes. Heart and eyes to actively scan our environment and seek out those in need of the great physician (Jehovah God).

Yesterday, I found out that Michael, the guy I usually buy coconut water from, was murdered. Hearing this shocking news, I remembered a time this year when, after buying coconut water and walking away, God told me to turn around and walk back and share Jesus Christ with him. So, I turned back and witnessed to Michael. Little did I know that Michael would be brutally killed a few months later.

Oh God, with tears falling on my pen, I say sorry. Sorry for the times I did not listen, the times I did not heed the leading of the spirit to share your son, Jesus Christ, with others. Sorry for the times I was so caught up in my own world that I did not labor to create a world you wanted to see.

Dear friends, be it the boys from under the tree, the vendor by the coconut stall, the colleague at work, or that neighbor who lives next to you. No matter where it is, let’s awaken our hearts to see that people are dying around us without Jesus Christ, and God is not pleased.

PS: Dane Miller was last seen by the spiritual optometrist (God), asking Him to improve his eyesight drastically.

Your Brother in the Lord,

Dane Miller – “God is the Author, I am the Pen”

Authored Book – What is the Woman Saying – Lessons from Biblical Women.

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