Fruit of the Spirit Pt. 2 - Week 3, Day 2

Day 2: Every Person Matters to God (Value Others)

If you have been around our church for very long, you have probably heard me say on more than one occasion that every person matters to God, therefore they should matter to us as well.

Think about that. Every person regardless of their past, and regardless of their present is a person that God says is valuable. Every person we lock eyes with is a person who is made in the image of God. We are to be kind to them in our words and in our actions.

John Ortberg tells the story of a time when he and his wife went into an antique store. His wife Nancy was eight months pregnant at the time. She turned to John before entering the store and said “Listen, maybe you should stay outside. I’ve been inside this store before. I’ve seen the price tags. They have valuable pieces in there. There are signs all over the place that say, “Don’t touch” and I know you. You will start looking at something and forget our baby on your back and she will reach out and pull down an incredibly expensive vase and it will cost a fortune.”

John looked at his wife and said, “Excuse me. I’m thirty years old and I have a doctorate in psychology. I think I will be able to handle a one-year-old for half an hour.” She said, “Fine, but if she breaks something it is going to come out of your allowance for the next twenty years.”

They went into the store. John found a few items he was interested in and sure enough he forgot all about his one-year-old baby girl on his back. She lunged for something, he gasped. His wife Nancy heard it and whirled around but being 8 months pregnant her body extended far beyond its normal boundaries, and she ended up knocking over an extremely expensive vase and it shattered everywhere.

John says, “That was 10 years ago and she is still paying for it”.

Every day we walk through God’s shop of people and every one of them carries a price tag that says, “Worth the life of my Son”.

The alcoholic is worth the life of God’s son.

The drug addict, the rebellious teenager, the man whose skin color is different than yours is worth the life of God’s son.

The man whose body is covered in tattoos, the man who doesn’t have a tattoo, every sinner is worth the life of God’s Son.

There was a man named Mark who was walking to work. He found himself at a red light trapped on a street corner with the “crazy.” The crazy man had a manila folder in his hand and he asked Mark, “Can I have something for my file, Mister?" Mark responded, “Sorry, I don’t have any money.” The man repeated his question. "Have you got anything for my file?" Mark reached into his pocket to give him a brochure and the man said, "I don’t have a file for that!" Mark took it back and looked away, praying for the light to change.

The man said, "I’m Howard. What’s your name?" He said, "My name is Mark." That was all the information he intended to give. Just then, the light changed. Mark quickly stepped out into the street and glanced over his shoulder. He watched the man pull out a stubby little pencil and was stooping to pick up a scrap of paper. Mark hurried on.

A few days later, while walking the same route, Mark saw two ambulance attendants carrying a stretcher out of an alley. It was him—the "crazy." A policeman was asking, "Did anyone know this guy?" Mark said “His name was Howard," that was all he knew. As the policeman turned to go, he gave Mark a box. "These were his things, but I don’t want to fill out a report for a bunch of garbage. Why don’t you take it?"

Before he could answer, the policeman turned to go. Mark wanted to throw the box away, but something wouldn’t let him so he opened it. Inside were some old clothes and a file folder. He removed the file and dumped the clothes. Crudely printed on one side of the file was the word, "friends." Mark opened it up. It contained only one small scrap of paper. On it was written, "Mark."

Every person matters to God and He wants us to treat each person and each encounter the exact way that He treats you and me each and every day. Are you a kind person?

Time Out:

Look up Colossians 3:12 and answer the following questions.

According to these verses, what should we practice?

Why should we do that?

How has God been kind to you?

Were you a kinder person yesterday? Why or why not?

When I think of how kind God has been to me, how can I not be kind to other people? Every person matters to God. The way we treat them shows them that not only do we care about them but God cares about them too. Think about that today.