Jesus used the rule for all of the people he met: John the Baptist, the woman at the well, the blind man, the lepers, Mary and Martha, Zacchaeus, the centurion, Peter’s mother-in-law, the beggar who was healed, Bartimaeus, etc.
Jesus showed this rule in various stories and parables: feeding the 5,000, the woman brought before him accused of adultery, the rich man and Lazarus, the parable of the lost son, the servant’s wages, his grief over his friend Lazarus, his praise for the widow’s mite, washing his disciples feet, his healing of the soldier’s ear in Gethsemane, his kindness to the malefactor executed by his side, and so on.
Judas didn’t get it; he didn’t want the precious ointment wasted on Jesus’s feet, but Jesus accepted the woman’s intimate, kind and generous act of love because he knew she embraced the one simple rule.
As Christians, as followers of Jesus Christ, there is one simple, golden, ironclad rule that will bring life and vitality for us as individuals and our churches as families of faith.
Our churches would flourish beyond our expectations if we treated each and every man, woman, boy, girl and baby we meet as having exceptional value.
If we truly value all people then we would know the names of all of the people around us in church.
Instead of asking others we know who they are, we would introduce ourselves to them. We would love to teach Sunday school. We would ask visiting company and family to come to church rather than skipping church because we have company or there is a family event. We would freely make motions at meetings that strengthen our churches. We would see people from our churches outside of morning worship. The church would not empty in five minutes after worship. We would be highly interested in other people’s lives, cares and concerns, and know what they are. When people are in trouble, we would ensure that they get to their job or church, medical appointments or the grocery store.
Do we bend down and speak to the children at their level or ignore them?
Do we actually tell people that we love them and show it by our actions?
Who do you love in your church and who definitely knows that you love them?
How do we communicate our belief that each and every person has value?
Explore your faith. Turn the questions into statements and see what happens.
