“Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.” 1 John 4:7-12  

A Kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they drew. She would occasionally walk around to see each child’s work. As she got to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was? The girl replied, “I’m drawing God.” The teacher paused and said, “But no one knows what God looks like.” Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing, the girl replied, “They will in a minute.”  

No one has ever seen G-d. We hear this in the Bible — we know it to be true in our lives. No one has seen the face of G-d — well no one except for Moses, and possibly a few others in the Old Testament. But, wouldn’t it be nice to get just a glimpse of G-d? Well, some people believe that when we look into the eyes of the poor, the needy, the “Anawim” of this world, that then we are looking into the face of G-d. As Christians we are encouraged to see Christ in the faces of everyone we meet.   

Here is another challenge for us as we enter into a new year. If we are serious about beginning anew in 2018, perhaps we can begin by changing our perspective on our neighbor. Instead of being annoyed with our neighbor who parks his/her car in our parking space, shouldn’t we step outside that anger and see someone who needs that spot more than we do? Instead of being angry at our co-worker who never stops talking, perhaps we can see someone who is lonely and needs someone who honestly will listen to them. Our true challenge in 2018 is to see Christ in the face of all people – even the annoying ones.  

Pastor Dave