I would, undoubtedly, be the forensic artist’s worst nightmare. For example, if we are in a restaurant, we can be waited on by a server, and as soon as she walks away, I cannot remember which one served us, much less describe her. I think I could give a decent description of Barbara if I needed to, but I have been married to her for over 38 years! And names? Let’s not even talk about my horrible problem remembering names. It is not because I do not care, I just cannot remember! That leads to the question, “Who was that?” Following are my thoughts.
When we see other people, what do we see? Do we see race, size, beauty, ugliness or other physical attributes? Do we see someone who is like us or unlike us? When we come up to the checkout counter, do we see a cashier? My point is that we often forget that the person to whom we are speaking or with whom we are having a momentary relationship (waiter, cashier, someone in line with us, etc.) is, indeed, a person with the same feelings, problems and hassles that we have.
Most importantly, however, when it comes to seeing a person with whom we have contact, is the question, do we see him or her as just a passing blimp on our radar of life? When we see a person, any person, anywhere, what do we see, and do we ask, “Who was that?” I, for one, need to learn to ask that question much more often. I get so busy rushing through my life, involved in my own little world, that I tend to totally fail to even notice others. It is prejudice against them. It is more like it never registers that they are even there. I can be so busy, so self-absorbed with my schedule, that I don’t even realize that others are around me. Let me share with you some thoughts that I am trying to emphasize in my own life.
Every Person I Meet Has Value!
Every one of them is made in the image of God. Every one of them deserves to be treated kindly and fairly. Every one of them deserves my best attitude, and my best behavior. Even facing the mean ones with bad attitudes does not remove my responsibility to maintain a Christ-like attitude.
Every Person I Meet Is a Living Soul
that Will Spend Eternity Somewhere!
I have a couple of good preacher friends that set such a great example of looking at people through the eyes of evangelizers. When they see a waitress, they see a soul who needs to know about Heaven. When they are waited on in a store, they see someone who is going to spend eternity somewhere. They wear the crimson-colored glasses, tinted by the blood of Jesus who died for that person to whom they are talking. I want to become one who constantly looks through those blood-tinted glasses and sees lost souls in need of Jesus—instead of noticing just bodies taking up space.
My hope is that we as the people of God will become more aware of others as souls who need the Gospel message. May we permanently put on crimson-stained glasses and see that every single person needs Jesus, and it is up to us to give Him to them!
