Monday's Musings: People - They Matter Most

by Michele Husfelt

Relationships seem to be a focus of what Jesus is teaching me lately. Navigating a tough one these days, my initial goal is simply to come out on the other side unscathed and unscarred. Since community is a basic need that we all must embrace as members of the Body of Christ and the human race, and because relationships have been highly valued in my life, I feel that I am failing at my goal. I’m bruised and scarred. But maybe that’s not really the goal after all. I remind myself often that I’m still on the right track in learning to weather the lessons of tough relationships with “difficult people” because Jesus says people are worth it. (I realize as I write that it’s not the people who are difficult, but the circumstances.)

In the middle of maneuvering this storm, I came across a quote that rather rocked my boat. Relationships are not one thing God is up to; relationships are the only thing God is up to. *

Reading it again, I came to a sudden halt and sat with that realization, reflecting on Scripture and the relationships God initiated with His people in the Old Testament. These thoughts continue into the New Testament, and every mention of Jesus I encounter is one where He relates to someone else. Whether it be another person or His Father, Jesus’ primary mission was to bring wholeness and restoration to our relationships: first with the Father and then with others.

The Trinity modeled relationship before anything else was brought into existence. In relationship and community, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit spoke creation into being. Today, their entire purpose lies in the redemption and restoration of people.

Another reminder of this truth came when I recently read a familiar story about Jesus healing a blind man. Mark recalls the story of a blind man brought to Jesus in Bethsaida. Though not a “traditional” form of healing in our day, Jesus spit on the man’s eyes and put His hands on him. “Jesus asked, ‘What do you see?’ He looked up and said, ‘I see people; they look like trees walking around’” (Mark 8:24). Jesus put His hands on the man once again, and his sight was restored, and he then saw everything clearly.

Again, I was stopped as I became transfixed on the thought that as Jesus healed this man, the first thing he saw was people. People. The very first thing God granted Him the ability to see was people. In those moments, I heard a whisper in my heart from Jesus reminding me that the first thing I need to see is people, which is not always easy. When we look at others, we often see misunderstandings, betrayal, disputes and disagreements, selfish motives and desires, or a host of other challenges. Our lives are meant to be lived in community. Yes, we are complete in Christ, but it is in community and fellowship with other people that we experience wholeness.

When you encounter difficult circumstances with people, do you see difficult people, or do you see Image Bearers and the opportunity to show them the love of Jesus?

*author unknown
Photo by Daria Lisovtsova on Unsplash