RESPECT

Back when Brother Lawrence was early in the ministry (somewhere in the 70s), he had stopped to purchase gas in his hometown.  When he walked inside to pay, the room became very quiet, although there were several young men there he knew had been talking before. After he paid his bill, he walked to them and asked them what they had been talking about that quieted them on his entry.  The men said that they were making some jokes that were inappropriate for a “man of the cloth.”  They had, out of respect for Brother Lawrence, halted the talk.

Brother Lawrence looked at them and said, "Well, in just a minute I'm going to walk back out.  However, God will still be here.  How about showing Him as much respect as you showed me?"

We are often far more concerned with what others think, than with what God thinks.  Others cannot see all of us—what’s in our hearts and minds, but God can see everything all the time. Imagine what God sees everyday when we are doing our routine tasks?  Does He see us waving our hands in anger at traffic or taking an opportunity to simply thank God that we even HAVE a car? Does He see us impatiently tapping our foot in the line at the grocery store or being very grateful that we HAVE grocery stores?

He sees everything--ALL THE TIME.  And, incredibly, He loves me.  And He loves you.   Love enough for all!

God sent His son into this world as a BABY to DIE for our sins!  Wow!  He made Himself human so He could understand us, redeem us, and bridge the gap between us and God.

Oh, what an incredible God we have!  He reached out to US!  He loves US!

Kimberly Starke

Back to Meditations

Home