It never ceases to amaze me as to what God can use to teach
me. This past week, it was a simple
banana. I eat one every day. To be
more exact, I actually drink a banana every day. Each morning, I have a
protein shake for breakfast using almond milk, protein mix, a small spoonful of
peanut butter and one frozen banana. Hmmmmmm, I'm getting hungry just
thinking about it!
Since I need to make sure I always have bananas around, I keep
my eye out for a good deal on them and then I stock up. So early last
week when I found them at a good price, I purchased 4 bunches. The
problem was that they were still quite green and so I knew they would have to
sit for a while to ripen. I usually have them on my kitchen counter, but
since we were having 19 people for dinner, I didn't want to have to work around
them so my husband offered to put them in the basement to get them out of my
way.
This would have been a great idea if I weren’t so absent-minded.
The phrase "out of sight out of mind" sure came true as I
completely forgot about their existence. Even though I go into our
basement at least twice daily, I never noticed them or even smelled them until
the weekend. The good news was that they sure weren't green anymore...in
fact they were far from green!
Fortunately, just the peeling was dark...the inside was just
fine to use for my shakes. In fact I was
surprised at how firm the banana actually was.
You see, I don’t like to eat bananas when the peeling is dark because
that usually means
That is when God turned this experience into a teaching
moment. As I prepared them for the
freezer, He started impressing a couple of things on me:
My opinion on the banana peels was similar to my opinion of
people with whom I come in contact sometimes. I often form my opinion of
them based on their outward appearance. Maybe they aren't dressed the way
I think they should be dressed. Or maybe their skin is covered in tattoos
and, since I don’t understand their reasoning for wanting them, I tend to keep
my distance. Or maybe keeping my distance doesn't have anything to do
with their markings, but their odor screams the fact that a bar of soap hasn't
been used in quite awhile. Regardless,
what I see or experience from how they look or smell, affects how I treat them.
Secondly, I was reminded of I Samuel 16:7, which says, “But
the LORD said to Samuel, "Don't judge by his appearance or height, for I
have rejected him. The LORD doesn't see things the way you see them. People
judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." What is inside a person is what counts. Each person I come in contact with possesses
a very special soul that is loved by our Heavenly Father just as much as I am
loved. I need to look past their outer
appearance and realize they deserve to have His fruit growing inside them just like
I do. But I think there are times that I
might have a “holier than thou” attitude and turn away before I ever look
inside.
This behavior is not one of which I am proud. I should
know better than to ever act this way. I have had proven to me over and
over again that I should never judge someone by their outward appearance
because it is their heart and soul that I should get to know.
John 13:34 is familiar to many of us, "So now I am giving you a
new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love
each other." This is not a suggestion...this is a
commandment. We are to love everyone, regardless of his or her
appearance, choices or behaviors. It doesn't mean we have to agree with
their life choices or beliefs, but we are still commanded to love them.
Unfortunately, I think we often stop at verse 34 and neglect to
read verse 35, "Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my
disciples.” OUCH. In other words, people are watching us
and if they do not see us loving those around us, they may never know we are
followers of Jesus. And if they never see Jesus in us...they may never
see Jesus at all.
No comments:
Post a Comment