“…but I do not even sacrifice my happiness, well-being, and peace for the good of my neighbor. If I did love him as myself, as the gospel bids, his misfortunes would distress me also, his happiness would bring delight to me too. But on the contrary, I listen to curious, unhappy stories about my neighbor, and I am not distressed; I remain quite undisturbed or, what is still worse, I find a sort of pleasure in them. […] His well-being, honor, and happiness do not delight me as my own, and, as if they were something quite alien to me, give me no feeling of gladness. What is more, they subtly arouse in me feelings of envy or contempt.”
The Way of the Pilgrim: the Pilgrim Way Continues
Waiting outside a Starbucks parking lot I watched the flow of people in and out buying all varieties of sugary coffee blends. It’s a great place for people watching. In noticing the mannerisms of people coming and going, I caught myself doing more than observing. My eyes weren’t merely watching people, they were critically making judgments, even if ever so slight. Did their clothing suit me? Did they walk funny? Was their car dirty? Did they really like that hat? Did they get off their cellphone at all when ordering?
That’s when the power of the Holy Spirit sent a quick, painful rebuke. How dare I assess these people and with biases, prejudice and superiority no less? We’ve all done this. In a moment of entertainment to pass time waiting, God reprimanded my actions by bringing to mind John 13:34-35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Instantly I faced God’s just judgment bidding me stop viewing his created children through critical lenses but through his beloved eyes.
Rattled by conviction, my perception changed from judgment to repentance. When I looked out the window again I saw the same people but dared to see them as God would; their struggles, need for love, loneliness, joy, uniqueness, as beloved children. Looking with a new perspective using scriptural glasses, I could see with empathetic and compassionate eyes the truth of each persons’ preciousness reflected back at me.
Brennan Manning, in his book The Wisdom of Tenderness, shares that Jesus is present in those around us (Matthew 25:40) and we need only to look deep beyond the outer shell.
“The Lord is in the people with whom we rub shoulders every day, the people whom we think we can read as an open book. Sometimes he’s buried there, sometimes he’s bound hand and foot there, but he’s there. We’ve been given the gift of faith to detect his presence there, and the Holy Spirit has been poured out into our hearts that we may love him there. For the meaning of our religion is love.”
Are you detecting Jesus in each person you see?
What I Learned About Myself…
I do not love my neighbor as myself. I don’t take notice with compassion or kindness. I don’t interact with a genuine appreciation for who they are, but I should. I don’t rejoice with them in their victories because of my self-pity, and I don’t mourn with them in their pain because I’m feeling too good about my circumstances. Who am I to judge through my impressions? Who am I to compare? If Christ looks at the heart, I too should look at the heart. I too should seek to find Christ, even if he’s hiding in the recesses, of each person. I too should love as Jesus loved.
Dare to Dream…
If we loved our neighbor, we would share in a greater joy because there would be no room for negativity. If we looked on our neighbor as an indwelling of Christ we would value every person, we would choose life and dignity for every human being.
In turn, we would gossip less. We would help more. We would put our pride aside and sacrifice more. We would listen with greater detail and respond in genuine care. We would step out of our comfort zone to notice and talk with a stranger. We would comfort those in need. We would be a friend to the lonely. We would teach our kids compassion and kindness so they could carry that to their schools. We would argue less and communicate more attentively. We would feed the hungry and shelter the homeless and parent the orphan. Our motivation in life would not be for our personal gain, but the lifting up of others to reveal God’s glory within them. To love our neighbor would be transformative in our communities, cities, states, country, and world. We would no longer see people different than us, we would no longer see enemies, we would see Jesus looking back at us. We would pursue their souls and hearts like that of Christ—fearlessly and tenderly.
And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ Matthew 25:40
Do you see Jesus in others? Do you treat all of God’s people as marked by his love? If we are not loving our neighbor, we are not loving God. Manning shares, “The litmus test of our love for God is our love for our neighbor.” Manning challenged me with a powerful question and now I want to leave it with you.
“Do I spend my days loving?”
We journey through life as a people created by the same God, all different, but all imprinted with Christ no matter what is seen from the outside. Dare to see Jesus in all people with me. Subscribe at the bottom of the website and join me and others along the wandering way.
