Heavenly Sandpaper?

As we come to another 'one another' this week I want us to take an honest look in the mirror and ask a couple of questions. Firstly, is there a possibility that there may be something about our behavior that is consistently irritating to others? We all have a bad day once in a while, but I'm asking if we perhaps have found that we have created some type of behavior that is simply some kind of attention-getter? An overbearing laugh... a continual need to be the center of attention... an insecure criticism of others all the time... This list could go on quite a bit.

And there's a second 'mirror question' that might be worth asking. Have I become quick at judging another person's worth or need for us to share the same circle together based on a quick first impression and therefore distanced myself from them without giving them a chance? I'm thinking right now of the two different men who walk into the room in James chapter two. They come into the same assembly but are treated differently simply based on their looks.

One great characteristic of Christianity is that we all get along. That's a benchmark of believers. One of the first commentaries on the early church by non-believers was a comment about how "they love one another." And if we step back a bit and think about it, it isn't because we are so lovable, but rather because the Spirit of God dwelling in us has made us so loving as we learn to see others the way God sees us. I'm humbled that God would send His Son to die for me. I know me! I know what I deserve. I deserve to spend eternity in hell, but for some reason before He even spoke this world into existence God called me to Himself. Me? And the better I understand how He loves me, the easier it is for me to bear with another. Amen?

What's your specific this week? Take a good look in your mirror. Then reflect on what God has given you in His Son Jesus Christ. That should humble us and break us down into clay that can be used by God's Spirit to now find that person that we have put safely out of our compassion circle and offer them the proof that they are special and that we appreciate them. Faith with feet. Remember?