We are the Created

  How I treat a brother or sister from day to day, how I react to the sin-scarred wino on the street, how I respond to interruptions from people I dislike, how I deal with normal people in their normal confusion on a normal day may be a better indication of my reverence for life than the antiabortion sticker on the bumper of my car. ~Brennan Manning

We are messy creatures, we humans. 

We bear the image of our Creator. Complex. Marvelous. Emotion-filled. We are little creators ourselves, having been given the mandate and the innate passion to imagine and build, to sing and learn, to birth new life and tell our stories. We are the Created. And here we are creating, because it is what we were made to do.

And all of Creation is called Good.

Check out this photo montage called 'Created Equal'. Do it. Right now.


http://www.ufunk.net/photos/created-equal-les-contrastes-de-la-vie-magnifique-projet-photo-de-mark-laita/


Did you look through them all? Did you see their faces? The stories behind them? Did you recognize something in each of these people that is also written in the mirror?

We are messy but intriguing creatures. And we may be Good, but we do not always do good, spread the good, create goodness. Often we choose to not really see one another, to disengage. We pass people by in favor of maintaining our idea of today's success. We try not to look into the stranger's eyes because it's awkward. Or maybe because we don't want to feel the conviction of knowing we should say something or do something to help or just to know them. We are far from the reality of the many people we encounter every day, aren't we?

I'm missing out not knowing these folks, especially those different from myself. Missing the chance to listen to their story and learn from them.

But if I say I believe that all of us, ALL of us, however crazy or smelly or intimidating, bear the image of our Creator, then I have to force myself to step outside of my own self-protective bubble and look into the stranger's eyes, engage when it's uncomfortable. I am craving the connectedness- the community of Creation that I know it was purposed to experience together.


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It was a rough week. It really was. Like, want-to-hide-in-the-closet-and-cry sort of rough. I'm guessing you know the feeling. Few of us can evade the human experience. I was saddened and shocked at the lack of redemptive creativity in the people I expected it from, and equally surprised by stunning acts of redemptive creativity from those I hadn't. Wait- what?! I totally didn't expect her to speak that kind of truth into my life!

I'm finding that just when I think I have someone figured out, labelled and tucked in a box neatly on a shelf, I put expectations on our relationship- whether complete stranger, close friend, spouse, barista... but that is exactly when I am surprised by the people around me, surprised when I see the authenticity of Jesus in someone unexpected, or have the opportunity to show a person some needed dignity by looking them square in the eyes and greeting them with a smile.

Dignity changes things.

Listening opens up the doors for creative community with those we least expect.

These are good surprises.