I began to be troubled by the lack of kindness and consideration people were showing to other people. Some people were plain mean.
As I drove toward home it struck me that we are created by God. We are all created in the image of God. And that God is a part of all of us. Then it hit me. If each and every individual is so much a part of God then how can we ever be so rude, thoughtless and nasty to any other person? How can we go thorough any day ignoring the fact that, no matter how much we might or might not agree with another person, we are all alike in that we are a creation of God Himself. Doesn't that one fact demand we treat one another with respect and kindness?
Doesn't it go beyond tolerating, accepting and trying to just get along? Shouldn't we hold the things of God with a kind of reverence? If I really understand people are hand made by God wouldn't I revere His creation? If you were to drive your mom's car which was her pride and joy, wouldn't you be super careful with it. Wouldn't you park it at the far end of the parking lot? Wouldn't you make sure it doesn't get scratched or damaged? Knowing her car was special to her, you would treat it just the same as she would, right?
Maybe we can come to an understanding that every person is God's pride and joy and that He loves them. He takes pride in you, yes you! He even takes pride in the guy next door even though he doesn't cut his grass often enough! We re told we are His craftsmanship. We are all special to him far more than mom's car is special to her.
If we understand such things, wouldn't we care for one another because of their maker? Wouldn't we care for them as God cares for them?
If we all we good to one another, would we not bring glory to He who created them? How do you think God feels when we treat badly what He wondrously and lovingly made?
If you damaged mom's car how would she feel? How would you feel? If you ruined a Picasso how would the world respond?
Maybe it is just that we revere mom and her stuff and Picasso and his work more than we revere God and what He has made and loves!
Consider, Matthew 25: 31-46 (NIV)
31“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32“All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
34“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37“Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40“The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
41“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 44“Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ 45“Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46“These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
In these verses, I see caring for one another as very, very important to God and if it is important to Him, it should be important to me. He values them and so should I. He loves them and so should I.
What harm we do to another, we do to Him. What good we don't do to one another, we don't do to Him.
There are many places in the Bible God clearly tells us to love one another.
As I see it, there is no room for "but....." only room for, "Yes, Lord."