After Jesus had washed his disciples' feet and had put his outer garment back on, he sat down again. Then he said: Do you understand what I have done? You call me your teacher and Lord, and you should, because that is who I am. And if your Lord and teacher has washed your feet, you should do the same for each other. I have set the example, and you should do for each other exactly what I have done for you. I tell you for certain that servants are not greater than their master, and messengers are not greater than the one who sent them. You know these things, and God will bless you, if you do them.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Recently I told you about using little twinkling Christmas lights throughout our home for decorating accents. If you know anything about these strands of lights, you know that often a section will stop working, while the rest of the lights continue to glow. Several years ago, my husband told me that he was rescuing “bad” strands of lights I would throw away, and he was recycling them… replacing burned out bulbs from one strand with good bulbs from another, and creating a restored, working set of lights.
Now you may ask, “Why would a man who can afford a small strand of twinkling lights go to this much trouble?” There are at least two answers:
- This sort of conscientious thriftiness is why we can afford to buy twinkling lights in the first place, and
- My husband sees the potential and “good” in the light strand… and he rarely wastes anything!
Each of us is so eager for Jesus to make us shine… to forgive us… to treat us with grace, mercy and kindness… and to see our value even when we cannot. Yet we find it nearly impossible to do this for others. We have to change this. We must stop and look at each person in our path and ask, “How do I wish to be treated by this person?” The answer will directly identify how we should treat him/her.
None of us is better than the next guy. A strand of bulbs that partially sparkles still shines… even if some of the bulbs are not burning at the moment. Those who have frustrated, angered, annoyed, disappointed, irritated or disgusted us still have worth to Jesus… as do we. We are called to treat all people equally… and to give them the same value as Jesus would… and as He demonstrated.
There is a saying that goes around from time to time… “You can tell a lot about a person by how he/she handles a tangled strand of Christmas lights.” How are you handling the “twinkling lights” in your life? Would Jesus handle them the same way?
©2011 Debbie Robus
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