Faith Lessons

Faith Believes Everyone is Important To God

During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the question, until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school? Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade. "Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you'll meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say 'hello'.I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

The faith lesson is that everyone is important to God. Psalm 8:4, 5 says, "what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor." (NIV)

When God made man He made him in the image of God. When creation was finished he looked at all he had made and said it was very good. The man driving down the street who cuts you off is made in the image of God. The worker whom you want to curse out was made in the image of God. The neighbor whose stuff you want to take was made in the image of God. When you look at someone on skid row or in prison or of a different nationality we see someone made in the image of God. When we see another Christian who doesn't live like we might think he should, yes, made in the image of God.

What value God would place upon man. We have been bought with a price. God placed such a value on us that he bought us with nothing less than the blood of His dear Son. (1 Peter 1:18-19)

What a world it would be if we saw people as God saw them.