"The poor and the oppressor have this in common - the LORD gives sight to the eyes of both." Proverbs 29:13
"The LORD gives sight to the eyes of both" means both the poor and the oppressor have received the same gift of sight from the same God. They are both God's children. He loves them both equally and He wants what's best for both of them.
Sometimes it's difficult to see everyone as a child of God. OK, so, more than "sometimes." I know my family and I are all children of God and the people at church are, but that person that just cut me off in traffic? I'm not so sure about that person. What about that person who just started yelling at me for no apparent reason? Yep, child of God. Sometimes while driving I would forget that my daughter was in the car with me. I would let a comment slip out when ever a driver did something that annoyed me. She would respond with "That's Jesus in that car!" and I would respond with "I raised you to speak to me that way!" in a firm tone but with a smile. It was always a little joke that we had between us but in reality she was reminding me that we are all children of God. We don't know why that person did what they did but maybe there's a reason for it and we should cut them a break this time... well, really, every time.
We're all children of God but we may not all be followers of God. That's where Jesus wants us to be actively looking for those people to bring to Jesus. The best way to do that is to stand apart from everyone else in the world. Our actions should cause the non-believer to take notice in a godly way. Our actions should be completely opposite of what is expected in the world. It should make the non-believer say "why is that person always so hopeful, or happy, or pleasant? I want to know their secret. I want some of what they have. They should want to ask you why you're so different and when they do you can invite them to come to church with you so you can show them.
The Shepherd
Return to The Proverbs Challenge
"The LORD gives sight to the eyes of both" means both the poor and the oppressor have received the same gift of sight from the same God. They are both God's children. He loves them both equally and He wants what's best for both of them.
Sometimes it's difficult to see everyone as a child of God. OK, so, more than "sometimes." I know my family and I are all children of God and the people at church are, but that person that just cut me off in traffic? I'm not so sure about that person. What about that person who just started yelling at me for no apparent reason? Yep, child of God. Sometimes while driving I would forget that my daughter was in the car with me. I would let a comment slip out when ever a driver did something that annoyed me. She would respond with "That's Jesus in that car!" and I would respond with "I raised you to speak to me that way!" in a firm tone but with a smile. It was always a little joke that we had between us but in reality she was reminding me that we are all children of God. We don't know why that person did what they did but maybe there's a reason for it and we should cut them a break this time... well, really, every time.
We're all children of God but we may not all be followers of God. That's where Jesus wants us to be actively looking for those people to bring to Jesus. The best way to do that is to stand apart from everyone else in the world. Our actions should cause the non-believer to take notice in a godly way. Our actions should be completely opposite of what is expected in the world. It should make the non-believer say "why is that person always so hopeful, or happy, or pleasant? I want to know their secret. I want some of what they have. They should want to ask you why you're so different and when they do you can invite them to come to church with you so you can show them.
The Shepherd
Return to The Proverbs Challenge
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