everything is affected ..
that's why Jesus was here, after all
to fix it
to take care of it
to begin the process of reconciliation ..
and we're included in that ..
everything is deeper than i see ..
___ _ _ __ _ _
take for example the woman that lost her home a year ago
or the dude that had mob connections
the grandchild that came for food with Grandaddy
the person we thought died
he didn't
the guy that thinks he's going to be able to sneak alcohol when noone is looking
or the girl that's doing life after childhood abuse
the people that live down the tracks
who try to care for other homeless people
while they themselves have nothing but sorrows
and some of the people they're helping are stealing their stuff
and they turn around and feed the same ones that stole from them ..
or the artist that studied under some important italian master
the vet that's only now climbing out of his hellhole
barely
or the drinker that's going to show the diesel-engine world how to cut fuel costs in half
the woman who's running scared from ' everyone coughing '
while she coughs
the teenager that doesn't much like to eat
mostly sits there bobbing his head to the plugged-in sound
the person that just had their truck broken into
all their clothes and stuff dumped out
and whatever they didn't take they pissed on
the guy that was talking to the plants as he dug a hole
he just needed someone to talk to
or the one that's trying to get past a failed marriage
and still find life
the one that wanted to end it
but's still here
or the lady with the 2 young children
or the man that's trying to live down a prison history ..
... .. ...... .. .
so, then ..
those people i mentioned ..
i just said 1 or 2 things about each one of them ..
what's behind that ?
what was in back of that ' thing ' in their lives ?
or is that too frivolous a question ?
maybe i'm reading too much into this ?
maybe i expect too much out of it ? .. .
well ..... .. maybe
but what about the woman that lost her home ?
or the vet in the hellhole ?
or the person that was thinking of dying puposefully ?
or the grandchild ?
or the Granddaddy ?
frivolous ?
. . . . . did i mention
you
in that list ?
. .. . . . . .
there's life behind there
and the life that lived that life was created in the image of God
and is a God-image-bearer ..
think about that for a minute ..
it's important
selah ..~
and i'm going to judge that ?
how dare i ?
who do i think i am ?
i haven't earned that right ..
some of those people i mentioned are homeless
some aren't
can you tell who is which ?
does it matter to you ?
does it matter ?
are they worth the same ?
do you value them the same ?
do you treat them the same ?
do i ?
? ?
_ _ _ ___ _ _ _ _
i'm just sayin'
that person you run into tomorrow and talk with
most likely has some serious issues going down in their life
notwithstanding the upbeat conversation
just sayin'
we need to face the truth that most people
especially in today's america
are suffering from one thing or another ..
they might not be homeless
but not only the homeless suffer, ya ?
.. . .
how then do we respond to that person i talk with tomorrow
with their smile and all .. ?
and how do we respond to the homeless person ?
they're ' person ' too ..
judge them ?
no, friend, that is not my place
nor yours
all i know to do is to meet them at the point of their need
and hope that something in me smells likemy rabbi
and that they are drawn to that fragrance ..
the fragrance of
grace
truth
and love
.. we are the aroma of Messiah ..
God is always displaying Jesus through us wherever we are,
like some fragrance that fills the air with the knowledge of him ...
( 2Corinthians 2. 14-16 )
shalom
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