If you missed the final lesson of our summer series Wednesday night, you really missed out. Wayne Roberts shared and excellent lesson from John 9 that was summed up with the idea that if we want people to see Jesus in us, then we need to see people the way Jesus sees people. It sounded so simple when Wayne said it, but it might be one of our greatest challenges as Christians.

 

In the book, Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box, there is an illustration where a passenger boarded a plane with open seating (think Southwest Airlines) and three seats on either side of the aisle. He found a window seat in the middle of the plane, put his open briefcase on the middle seat and opened a newspaper to read. As people made their way down the aisle, he looked over the top of his paper while trying to make sure the seat next to him looked as unappealing as possible. He wanted the extra space. Another time he found himself on another flight where he and his wife were unable to sit together. A woman offered to trade seats with one of them, giving up having her own extra space with an open seat next to her, so they could sit together. Most people who have flown have been in both positions and very quickly forget what it is like to be on the other side of the equation. The book describes the principle this way:

 

 

Jesus sees people as people, not objects. The blind man in John 9 experienced that in a miraculous way. We can help people experience it in everyday ways if we will see them the way that Jesus does. We can be more like Him, and others can see Him too.

 

– Brian