Skip to main content

More Thoughts on The Dignity of Man

Every day I drive to and from the church on a path that takes me right past the downtown of our city.  I often get stopped by the light at the corner of what might be called our town's main street.  As I have sat waiting at that intersection some truly memorable people have passed me by.  There have been innumerable drunks and drug addicts.  Though I can't be 100% sure, I think I have seen more than a couple of prostitutes.  There are the shirtless men who are so covered with tattoos that one would have difficulty finding a bare inch of skin and the single moms with a less-than-well-cared-for child in the cheap stroller.

It would be exceedingly easy to sit and pass judgment upon those who pass by.  Certainly for some, lifestyle choices have contributed to the place in which they find themselves.  However, I am not called by God to pass judgment.  I am called to see in these people the image of God.  Yes even here it is present - and even here God desires to redeem it through the work of Christ.  I am constantly having to re-educate myself to remember that no matter how far we have slipped, Christ enjoys redeeming His children.

Let me see this world, dear Lord, 
As though I were looking through Your eyes. 
A world of men who don’t want You Lord, 
But a world for which You died.
Let me kneel with You in the garden, 
Blur my eyes with tears of agony; 
For if once I could see this world the way You see, 
I just know I’d serve You more faithfully.
Let me see this world, dear Lord, 
Through Your eyes when men mock Your Holy Name. 
When they beat You and spat upon You, Lord, 
Let me love them as You loved them just the same.
Let me stand high above my petty problems, 
And grieve for men, hell bound eternally; 
For if once I could see this world the way You see, 
I just know I’d serve You more faithfully.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Families' Fridays

You Cannot Raise Snowflakes in Jesus’ Name David Prince “What you are describing is not a crisis; it is life.” I find myself making that assertion often as I talk to parents. The parent will describe a situation where someone teased their child, or spoke a harsh word to them, and then ask me, “How should we respond?” Usually, what they are describing is normal stuff that happens between children in a fallen world. I tell them what they are describing it is not a crisis; it is life. Their responsibility is to coach their child on how to appropriately respond. Typically, the parent responds to me with shock and I hear phrases like: “But it hurts their feelings.” “They are a sensitive child.” It doesn’t dawn on them that their child’s sensitivity could be the major problem. Frequently, parents place the blame on other children for their child’s reaction. They position their child as a victim. Focusing on the child a parent has no control over while neglecting and opportunity to t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Death For a Believer

We picture death as coming to destroy; let us rather picture Christ as coming to save. We think of death as ending; let us rather think of life as beginning, and that more abundantly. We think of losing; let us think of gaining. We think of parting; let us think of meeting. We think of going away; let us think of arriving. And as the voice of death whispers,  "You must go from earth," Let us hear the voice of Christ saying, "You are but coming to me."   Norman Macleod
Post a Comment
Read more

Families' Fridays

From Focus on the Family 10 helpful tips for single parents Imagine this: you’re the sole parent for your children. You get them up, get them fed and send them to school. You do the housework, maybe you go to work yourself, you get home and you’re still the only adult there. There’s no one to relieve you. No one to pass the baton to while you take a shower or take a few minutes for yourself. You make dinner and gather the family around the table to eat. You play with them, read to them, give them baths, get them to bed and there’s no one there to sit with and process your day. There’s no one there to laugh with you or pray with you. Instead you keep working. You clean up the house again. You pack lunches for the next day. And you eventually crash into bed, knowing you’ll be doing the same thing tomorrow. For many, this is not an imagined scenario. When you parent alone – whether due to divorce, the loss of your spouse or having a spouse who works away from home for long periods of...
Post a Comment
Read more