There was a news story a while back of a young girl with a disability who invited her classmates to her upcoming birthday and was rejected by every single one.  Can you imagine her heartbreak and that of her loving parents?  It’s hard to realize we have sunk so low as a society, that we look down on someone who is slightly different than we are.  The story ended beautifully however, when it was posted on social media by the girl’s mom and a group of caring people planned a party for the girl and 300 guests showed up to wish her Happy Birthday. Even though the story ended well, it makes me wonder how many other children are being snubbed by their peers because of a handicap or simply because they don’t fit the mold.

Jesus tells us to love one another.  He doesn’t say love the ones we want to love.
We’re expected to love the unlovable, the weak, the drug addict, the alcoholic, the child molester, those of a different nationality and religion, and those who don’t agree with us. In other words, we are to love everyone as He first loved us – without question.

We may all be guilty of prioritizing people.  Our actions speak volumes to those we set apart.  If we consider how we’d feel if we were in their shoes, maybe we wouldn’t be so quick to judge or classify. The pandemic didn’t help. People isolated. They lost the face-to-face contact that can’t be retrieved by a camera. The body language was missing. The intimacy of friendship began to crumble. That isn’t really a good excuse. It’s just part of what happened during that time. Unfortunately, we have lost our trust along with communication skills.

All people matter to Jesus.  He came to save everyone – even those who spat on Him and nailed Him to the cross – even those who continue to doubt His Godhead – even those who kill His followers.  We’re all pieces of this great puzzle called life.   We’re all important and accountable to Almighty God. We are obligated by the commandment Jesus gave to His followers when he lived on this planet.

 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35

We can learn so much from those words. Particularly loving God first and then loving others as ourselves. Children especially learn by our example. It’s not impossible to set aside our differences. It’s not impossible to reach for tomorrow for the innumerable stars in the sky. We can accomplish our goals, live and work together and move on when we trust in the Triune God.