Do You See what I See?

My job puts me very close to people all day long. There is no "personal space" when working Grouper. There is no modesty for the ladies when working Load. There is no expression of gracefulness when working at Unload! (None exit gracefully, but all WILL exit!) I haven't had a Greeter rotation for a week, but it also puts me right in the middle of the pack when I have to answer the phone or distribute a flick card.

Believe it or not, I can't help but think of my many missionary friends as I'm walking up the ramp to Side A. Half-way up the ramp, the scent of humanity (or stench of humanity?) begins to permeate the senses. Here I am in a 1st-world country, and the smell and heat from human flesh is almost overwhelming! They have eaten garlic. They pass gas. They've been caught in a downpour and their clothes are wet and smelly.

My missionary friends are sitting in huts with fire pits, crowded into groups who have never heard of deodorant or shampoo or using tissues instead of hands and clothing to wipe their noses. As I was working at Load the other night, I began to think of their encounters with people verses my own and I remembered that the missionaries see and smell far, far worse, and yet there's a glaring difference between our experiences:

The missionaries see people through the lens of Love. They see people who desperately need a Savior.

It hit me, really, hit me, that I also see people who desperately need a Savior. While my missionary friends are faced with people trapped by fear and superstition of false gods, I am also seeing people who are trapped by fear and enslaved to their man-made idols; money, materialism, and status. I stood there at Load and asked myself, "What do people really look like when looked through a lens of Love, the same lens the missionaries use?"

God, in His goodness, gave me a glimpse.

People, I'm not going to lie. You smell. Badly. But I'm also not going to lie when I say this to you:

Do you have any idea how incredibly beautiful you are?

I mean, really?

I see all shapes, sizes, and colors. I see hair and lack of hair. I see superbly toned muscles, tanned skin, manicured nails. I see rounded faces, enormous guts, crooked teeth.

You're beautiful.

Really, really beautiful.

You are fearfully and wonderfully made.

You have a loving, merciful God who is mad about you! You are His passion and His delight! He made you, not because He was lacking in anything (God is complete - He needs nothing) but He made you so you could know HIM and enjoy Him forever. He knew you could never be in His presence because of sin, so He took care of sin for you by sending His Son to the cross on your behalf.

Oh, how He loves you!

I had a different experience at work that night and it hasn't really gone away. I hope it never does. I hope I continue to see humanity through the lens of love - as God Himself sees them.

Beautiful.