Loving People

During my reflecting time the other day, I realized something significant to my perspective, life, walk with God, and how I treat others. Even though we are all not brothers and sisters of the same family, I am called to love people (love your neighbor). But how can I love everyone? How did Jesus do it? How did he view people? So I changed my perspective and thought of people belonging to one family, my family; and it has given me a better perspective of how to treat people with more love. This includes the guy who cut me off on the road this morning, or the girl customer at work who treats me inferiorly because she's rollin' in a newly-leased Beemer, or the homeless person outside 7-11 asking for money to buy dinner, or the person I can't communicate with because he speaks another language. I share two of the greatest things in common with all of these people: we are human and God loves everyone of us.

These past few days, I've been thinking how much we, as people, all have in common, and it's kind of boggling my mind. So here's what really got to me: If I think of everybody as brothers and sisters, part of the same family, then how much differently will I think of the people who steal from me! What a radical change of perspective.

So here's the "getter": If God loves everyone of us, (and I couldn't comprehend this), how much would it please Him that I love the same people too. How much would it please Him that I show the same people he loves, mercy? How much would it please Him that I show them forgiveness and grace instead of frustration? Is that what we were made to do? Would that make a difference? Would that show people Jesus? I hope so, because I hope to please God.

Beautiful World

I've had quite some time to watch TV in between naps while being sick this week. Currently, one of my favorite channels is the nature channel. The other day, there was a show on about some intense explorers that got me thinkin' how awesome this world is in which we live.

I read a book not too long ago entitled Wild at Heart. Although there are some things that I don't 100% agree with, most of it is pretty 'spot on'. One subject author John Eldredge talks about is the one thing that is hardwired into the hearts of men: The need for exploration. This is true for me. Everytime I'm biking an unfamiliar mountain trail, it fills me with this rush of "gotta keep going" and "I know something beautiful is just around this next hill." Ten miles later I realized that I've spent all my energy getting there and not saved enough to turn around, just because I couldn't stop taking in all the new sights. Granted, it doesn't take being a man to appreciate the newness and beauty this world has to offer.

Here is what struck my brain while I was watching the nature channel's most extreme explorers: With all of our technological advances, and all the thousands of years humans have been exploring, we daily continue to discover so many new and exciting things about this planet. Even the little things like how every sunset is different, every rain fall is different, every season differs from the year prior...there are so many things that I take for granted that shouldn't be. It blows me away that after all this time, humans have not grown tired of this earth. It just left me in awe. Then it made me think how depressed humans would be if we knew everything about our environment and became bored with it. But that isn't who we were made to be (cue Switchfoot's "Meant To Live"). This world is such a wonderful gift. It's a gift of changing beauty, of which we sometimes need to be reminded.

I hope this reminds us to let nature's beauty make us smile again and to take enjoyment in such a wonderful creation: our home.