She gave up trying to stop. No stranger to strange men in strange houses, she stood behind him as he reclined at the crowded banquet table. Noiseless sobs, rising from unknown depths, shook her slender frame. Twin streams surged past long, vainly clenched eyelashes, falling, splashing, etching pale rivulets across his grime-encased feet. As she opened her eyes, the pent-up reservoirs poured out, making a muddy mess. Kneeling quickly, she loosed flowing hair to clean ankles, toes, soles, and heels. Then, leaning lower, she kissed the feet that brought such good news.
She didn’t know why she came or why she stayed, weeping and cleaning. She was accustomed to being the object of desire. But now, perhaps fearful of publicly admitting interest in her beauty and ability, no one acknowledged her presence. Except him. His words in town earlier that day pierced deep until she gladly admitted the truth about herself. Everyone else in town, of course, already knew who she was, what she was. His gaze, also knowing, displayed neither disdain nor rejection. Instead, it called her a princess, bright and clean. Who in the world did he think she was?
That elusive love for one another—touted as the sure sign we belong to Him—begins with regarding each other from the Creator’s viewpoint, not the creation’s. Natural eyes, designed for life inside creation’s cage, see only the natural man. But, heart’s eyes, designed for heaven’s life, see the King’s image bearer. The trick? Choose to believe before seeing rather than after. Faith draws impossible beauty out of ugly souls.
So, what happened the last time you treated a bother like a brother?
Isaiah 52:7; John 13:34-35; Matthew 5:43-48; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; Luke 7:36-50
Bought separately, these two thought-provoking works are $19.98
Bundled together, they’re only $14.98
You save $5.00
I sign each copy and offer personalized messages.
Click here to order
This post excerpted from Call For News-Reflections of a Missionary Pilot
Click here to get the entire book.
