People Are People

A friend said something to me today that seemed so simple and yet so profound at the same time.  He said, “Wherever you go, people are people.”  This seems like it would just be an obvious statement; after all, anywhere you go, you will find men who long for adventure and women who find them childish for doing so.  Women all over the planet long for romance as much as men long for respect. And I am willing to bet that you will not find an honest man or woman anywhere who claims to fully understand the opposite sex.  Among every culture in the world, we share many similarities.

Paul writes, in his letter to the Romans, “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God” (Romans 15:7 NIV).  This seems to fit in with the worldview that we should accept all people for who they are and embrace our differences.  The only problem is that the scripture says to accept each other, “as Christaccepted you.”  Christ accepts us in a much different way than the current worldview.  You see, Jesus is far too loving to say, “I love you for who you are, the way you are and I am going to let that be and do nothing for you.”  But that is what the world says, it says, “You are who you are, for better or worse, and there is nothing that can be done so you might as well accept it and everyone around you might as well accept it as well.”  That would be a horrible statement to make to an addict or a prostitute or a homeless person on the street, or anyone else for that matter, but it is the typical statement from the world, and it is wrong in every instance.

No, Christ accepts that we are not perfect, but that we, through Him, have the potential to move in that direction.  No entity in the universe has more confidence in our abilities as Christ; His desire is to hone us into who He created us to be.  In Psalms 139:13 it says God “knitted us” in our mother’s womb.  He took the time to personally create and mold every human being with great care, and He did this with great plans for us.  In Jeremiah 29:11, He says, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you,plans to give you hope and afuture.”

 

And these plans that He has for us, they are for things beyond our own belief.  Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these” (John 14:12 NIV).  Each of us, through God has the potential to do great and amazing things even beyond what Jesus did on earth.  We are called, each of us, to do nothing less than GREAT things.  This is how Christ accepts us; as lost people who have great potential if they will only come to their God—who desires nothing but the best for them and through them.

People are people, wherever we go.  For the believer, this means that we are to accept that everyone everywhere is created in the image of God to do great things; and they can do so, only through faith in Him. 

For the unbeliever, the statement “people are people” means that there is no hope for anything better so why bother. 

Let us do as we are told in Romans 15:7 and accept each other as Christ accepts us, with a message of hope.

 

Grafted by His Grace,

Raul

Lord, when did we see you?

Lord, when did we see you? 

                    

On Monday night, my wife and I watched a documentary about Mother Theresa.  While most people know her name, not all realize the work she did for the impoverished throughout the world.  She left home at 18, said good-bye to her mother and sister, and went out to do what God called her to.  (She never saw her mother or her sister again.)  She lived with the absolutely poorest, sickest, and hopeless people; many of whom were literally considered garbage.  And she just loved them and treated each of them as if they were royalty.

A certain verse from the Bible became her motivation.  It is out of Matthew 25:37-40, 

“'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

 

Mother Theresa believed the scriptures.  She believed that what was written in them was truth.  She believed that her treatment of these people was a direct reflection of her treatment to Christ.  And as such, she lived her life in reflection of what she truly believed.  Do we?

We live in a world where there are an infinite amount of beliefs concerning spirituality and ethics.  This has led to the confusion and fighting that we see in the United States and throughout the world.  People act out what they believe.

This raises the question that Dell Tackett once asked, “Do you really believe that what you believe is true?”  Seriously, how much time have people really put into examining and considering what they believe?  I would be willing to guess that the average American has put little thought at all into what he claims he believes.  Most of our influence comes from what we see on TV and how our friends feel.  Is that what we should base the existence of our lives upon?  Is that what we should base our children’s lives upon?

We need to do as Mother Theresa did, really consider what it is we believe and why.  If we would live our lives based upon our beliefs, then we should know why we believe what we believe.

The scripture says, “Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil” (1 Thess 5:21-22).  God is not afraid of the Pepsi challenge.

Grafted by His Grace

Raul
See you next week.