Can I admit something? People bug me. People in front of me in line at the store who argue with the sales clerk about every price, people who cut me off in traffic, people who talk too much and listen too little, people who are selfish, people who are late, people who break promises, people who gossip behind my back. Sometimes I ask God how He can truly love mankind when we are all such wretched creatures. But the truth of the matter is, He does love us all; from the homeless, smelly man sitting in front of the drugstore to the rich woman haggling about the price of toothpaste. He sees something in us that we don’t see. Like the pearl in the middle of the oyster or the gold embedded in a dirty old rock.
C.S. Lewis put it this way:
It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations . . . There are no Ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations—these are mortal and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.
I love this! I want to remember this every minute of every day and every time I interact with another person. Everyone is immortal, everyone is priceless, everyone is an exquisite masterpiece of God’s. So, I’m turning over a new leaf. I’m determined to treat every person I meet as if they were a celebrity, and I’m determined to love them 100 percent more than I would have.
Let’s face it, most people have heard the gospel in this country, and if you mention Jesus, walls go up instantly. But I guarantee you that every person you meet is in desperate need of unconditional love. What would happen if every Christian determined to love every person that crosses their path 100 percent more? I believe we could transform the world for Christ.
Will you join me?
MaryLu Tyndall