Musing of the day

Nobody waves to me anymore. I’ve driven the same truck since 1994, and whenever anyone saw my little blue Ranger (may it rest in peace) puttering along they’d say, "Well there's Chris" and throw up their hand. But nobody recognizes me now. People see the outside and don’t know who's on the inside. The town suddenly seems a lot less friendly.

Now we do something very similar with people. We see the outside, and don't always keep in mind who's on the inside; if we did, we might treat people differently. We want to put people in categories based on what we see from the exterior: panhandlers, rebellious teens, conservatives, homosexuals, liberals, fundamentalists, drug addicts, prisoners, gossips, grumpy old men, ne'er-do-wells, know-nothings, etc. But we often forget that on the inside, each person we encounter is a precious child of God. Let's get beyond the outward appearance and keep the inner reality in mind. Let's recognize that the persons we meet every day have value in God's eyes and that God longs to accomplish God's saving work within them. Let's train ourselves to see the worth of each person we meet and treat that person accordingly.

Chris Morgan at Assembled Reflections