Why People Are Important

Now before you declare me to be captain obvious or state the lack of fecal matter to Sherlock Holmes, permit me to make my case as to why people are important.

First, even though I've found myself in disagreement with some of my blog readers I'm beginning to recognize the value of such discussion. There are many more folks who shrink from dialogue because they don't want to get sucked into an exhausting argument they feel can't be won. I'm discovering that these folks have a poor view of the value of relationships. I have always, perhaps in a utopian way, believed that a relationship means being committed to a person regardless of the circumstance(s). This has caused me to believe that no matter how much I disagree or how much I disapprove of someones behavior (or how much they disapprove of me at times) I know that our love in friendship or brotherhood is not in jeopardy. Though I may disagree, I am never left without the value of having been challenged to think and rethink, and often times change and grow (and I am convinced that this works both ways, no matter how adamant the other party appears).

I believe that people I disagree with are worth the discussion... because people are valuable.

Second, I watch this video and when the blur from the tears subside I see that people are important. I see how a relationship can change a life... A LIFE! It is unjust that there are some born into the world without the same opportunities to excel in society. It is tragic that there are those born into this world unwanted, uncared for or unloved. It is nothing short of a miracle that someone else would enter into that experience willingly, and offer to give of themselves.  

Finally, people are important and hold value not because I say they do. My declaration of someones worth holds little to no sway or pull. People are important because God cares. People have value because God loves them. The only way I know this is through his Son, who refused to disassociate himself from those who were not loved by others. I am learning this from his Son, who ministered to those whom society had forgotten. I am learning this from his Son who ushered in a way so foreign to the world that, athough it appears everywhere, it remains unseen.  I am learning it from his Son who gave himself over to death by the very same ones he came to save. In all of this he was never deterred from his task.

How am I learning it? From those whom belong to him - sometimes from those who serve the kingdom yet never bow their knee to the King. From those who love and give of themselves more than they love and give to themselves.

We have value, because he loves us. Because he loves us, we ought to give ourselves to those whom he loves. Jesus entered into our experience and gave of himself. Those who know him will do the same. I hope to God I will be numbered among them, and I hope you will join me in this ambition.

"A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act." - Gandhi