Eating On Me

Have you ever had a verse of scripture just "eat at you"? It seems to happen a lot to me lately, and it's usually verses that I've observed "the passover" with as I read it in the past. Now I see them, and sometimes they cause me to wonder about how much I've missed through the years. The passage that is munching on me this week is a little sentence stuck between Paul's declaration that Jesus "died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised again," and his call for us to be ambassadors of Christ, sharing the message of reconciliation. Here it is - holy indigestion - "So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view." (2 Cor.5:16) Ouch! You mean to tell me Paul that because of what Jesus did for me I no longer see people like I used to? Without exception? You mean I don't see people as ungodly heathens, who cheat, steal, abuse others, worship money, and drive their cars like maniacs? How else can I look at them? They're not part of US? They are...they are...people in need of reconciliation with God! They are people who need to experience Jesus through me! They are...me...before Jesus. If I am anything good, godly, or growing, it's by the grace of God. My "new creation" in Christ should move me to see others as He did - souls in need of a relationship with the Father.
"Ain't no Tums gonna help ya with that one!"