people

Every Wednesday morning I get dressed like a student and go to my New Testament class.  I take off my backpack, sit down and relish in the fact that i look like everyone else in the room, that no one notices I'm there and I can just sit in the backrow and listen.

Recently I've started arriving early so I can watch my professor's screen saver.  He has thousands of beautiful pictures of people.  I sit there in the early sleepy quiet that morning classes bring and am reminded of the beauty there is in regular every day life, in regular every day people.

My prof tells us several times every class that the New Testament is about Transformation. This man, Jesus, changed everything and changes us when we meet him. He always says "Something has happened, and the world will never be the same!" This something is Jesus.

My prof spends a lot of time in class talking about how human beings are "image-bearers" of the mighty Creator God. He talks about how this reality should radically change how we see the world.  If all people bear God's image then slavery is wrong because we are treating those that bear the mark of the creator as possessions rather that infinitely valuable creations.   We start to care for the poor because they are precious humans being marginalized.  We love our fellow man because God made them and knowing God should change how we see everyday people.

I think that is why my prof has all these pictures of people on his screen saver.  The reality of Jesus in his life makes every day broken people worth photographing. And if you watch the pictures long enough you can be equally fascinated with the mystery and depth that is in every face.  I've been thinking about how when we come to know Jesus and are drawn deeper into relationship with him, I think we start to see people differently. People become more precious, more important, and more valuable.  And it's this transformation, not guilt,  that moves us to have compassion.  It's this transformation that helps us recognize the beauty that is in every day life and in every day people.