'Beholding
the glory of the Lord in the face of Christ involves the discipline of
beholding Christ in the faces of one another. 2 Cor 5:16
We
must learn to say of the people we meet what Mother Theresa said of the poor
she served: “Each one of them is Jesus in disguise” for as we learn to see
Christ reflected in the faces of one another we begin to use the measure He
used in honouring us to honour one another. This creates a flow of life, a flow
of grace which brings what is unseen to the surface in our lives and closes the
gap between earth and heaven' What
on Earth is Glory by Paul Manwaring
Christ has shown us the highest honour through
dying in our place and giving himself completely for us
In the same measure, he has called us to
honour one another as though they were Christ himself.
It got me thinking that when I meet people
who don’t yet know Jesus I am struck by how many of God’s attributes I see in
them despite them living a life separate from him.
I didn’t always see people this way or
notice this but I should not be surprised for God created and redeemed us all
to display his glory. We are all uniquely and beautifully made, we all have a God
given calling and destiny, and we are all loved by Him in the same measure. The
only difference between a follower of Jesus and someone not yet following him
is whether or not their spirit has been made alive in Christ.
A while ago I got speaking to a lady in a
cafe who had come in for her lunch break and who asked if she could join me at
my table.
As we talked she told me she was in
marketing and how she had been part of ‘the hard-nosed corporate world’ as she
described it but how she had left that because she wanted to make a difference
and was setting up her own marketing business and website to help people.
I was struck in that moment how she was
displaying God’s heart of compassion, of generosity and how she was without
realizing it connecting with the God who had made her. Up to this point in the
conversation, I had not referred to God at all but as I began to affirm and
encourage her I saw tears in her eyes. I told
her that the compassion she felt came from God who had made her and who wanted
her to know Him. This led on' to what she did and didn’t believe and
how she saw herself as a Buddhist but I know she was impacted by what I'd said.
Another example, just last week Tony and I
went out into Bedford to see who we might meet and share God’s love with. We
met a guy who was manning the AA Breakdown stand in the Town Centre. Sadly he
was very adamant about being an atheist but what stood out to us both was his
compassion and faithfulness as a father and husband caring long term for his
wife who had been on dialysis since she was born. She was currently sick and
waiting for a donor. Through talking to him we learned he was getting up very
early doing everything for his wife and their children, travelling a distance
to work and then to return in the evening to do the same and all with apparent
cheerfulness and devotion. We were able to encourage him for the husband and
father he was and call out the greatness in him.
Just today in Costas a small team of us
were meeting and we got to speak with and encourage two of the senior staff
there. I was struck again by the vision, passion and wisdom they were carrying
in the way they were relating to and training their staff and how motivated
they were by these values that were based on encouragement and seeing the best
in people.
Now you could be thinking are we not then
just encouraging ‘good works’ when Jesus said it is not by your good works that
you will inherit the Kingdom of God? No, I believe it is showing honour to those
who God has made to be like him and helping them to connect with who he is and
who desires relationship with them.
As we love and honour people we will see the treasure in them.
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