when we really see

Lewis talks about looking down our noses at people who need Jesus today in A Year with C.S. Lewis.

He tells us that one of the ways our enemy tries to trip us up is to think we're better than those who haven't found their need for Jesus yet. To convince us that we're somehow better just because we know we're sinners in need of God's grace.

There is, I think, a simple antidote to this poison from our enemy. That antidote is to spend time reaching out and helping people who are in need. Especially those who aren't Christians. When we come into actual, close, physical contact with people who are still looking, still lost, they stop being a hypothetical category or statistic in our minds. They become people. People we love, and care about, and want to see happy. They become real to us.

Once someone is real, we remember their humor. Their cares and hopes and desires. We see them like we see ourselves... as humans who make mistakes and need love. And once we see them in that light, loving them like we love Jesus becomes much simpler.

And that love drives the pride that Lewis talks about right out of our minds.

God, thank You for helping us see "them" as people, just like us.