Common
Threads*
Rich and poor have this in common: The
LORD is the Maker of them all.
Proverbs 22:2
What a strange weekend. Everywhere
Trevor looked he saw a familiar face.
What made it strange was that Trevor
and his wife, Erin, Erin’s sister, Carolyn, and her husband, Dick,
were on vacation two hundred miles from home. And yet, person after
person looked familiar. If he’d seen one look-alike he’d seen
fifty!
He’d noticed the curious phenomenon
yesterday, while they were shopping. Several times he’d seen a
friendly face only to remember where he was and that the odds were it
wasn’t actually them.
The next day in church Trevor looked
around the sanctuary noticing men, women, and children who bore
strong resemblance to friends back home. Knowing this wasn’t a
coincidence, he silently asked, Okay, Lord, what are you trying to
tell me?! But God remained silent.
With vacation over, they headed home.
Stopping along the way to grab some dinner, Trevor decided to share
his experience with everyone. As he began to share Dick’s eyes lit
up. “Me too!” he said surprisingly. “I thought I saw your
brother, Tim, yesterday! How weird is that?!” Erin and Carol had
also had the same experience! This was more than strange!
In that moment God spoke to Trevor,
“There is a common thread running through humanity. None are
strangers to Me. Rich and poor, saved and unsaved…I made them all.
These are your brothers and sisters.”
†
It has become human nature to insulate
ourselves from the seedy or questionable characters of life, looking
on them as unsavory; those people with whom we’d rather not
interact. And while I am not advocating that recovering alcoholics
and addicts cavort with drunks and junkies, or that we must all
minister in the crack houses of our neighborhood, I am suggesting
that if God brings someone questionable across our path we not
dismiss them as an inconvenience.
There is no more than a 0.2 percent
difference in the DNA of every race on the planet, though skin color
and distinguishing features may suggest otherwise, God says we are
family. How would you treat your sister if she were in need?
Prayer
“Teach me to treat
everyone with the respect and dignity with which I want to be
treated, Lord. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
*DNA percentage obtained from:
www.ChristianAnswers.Net
on 08/27/2009 by Author
No comments:
Post a Comment