The way you look upon your neighbor reveals how deeply you have allowed Christ to dwell within your heart.
It is easy to seek God in prayer and in church. It is more difficult to recognize Him in the person who interrupts you, tires you, disagrees with you, or has wounded you. Yet love for God is proved precisely in the way you receive the one who stands before you.
Do not look at a person only through what he is today. Also see what he may become through the grace of God. This is how Christ looked upon tax collectors, fishermen, the thief on the cross, and those fallen into sin. Beyond their wounds, He saw the image His Father had created.
When you meet a difficult person, do not ask first, “How can I protect myself from him?” Ask instead, “How can I keep from losing love?” At times you must speak the truth; at other times you must remain silent. Sometimes you should draw near; at other times you should keep a wise distance. But in every circumstance, do not allow hatred to find a place in your heart.
Every person whom God places in your path is also a call to become more like Christ. The one who learns to see the Lord’s face in his neighbor begins to discover that love is not merely a commandment, but the very life of the Kingdom.
“Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.” (Matthew 25:40)
