“Yeshua also said to the one who had invited him, “when you give a lunch or a dinner, don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, or rich neighbors; for they may well invite you in return, and that will be your repayment. Instead when you have a party, invite poor people, disfigured people, the crippled, the blind! How blessed you will be that they have nothing with which to repay you! For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” Luke 14:12-14 Psalms 8:4 asks Elohim a question; “What is man that you are mindful of him?” This question attempts to show the wonderful love of a God who is infinitely more than any human can conceive. It does so by reinforcing the finite nature of man. Indeed, what is man? There are six billion people in the world, and why is the life of one individual any different from another. If mankind looks at an ant colony, he would not see the status of the individual ants. From Elohei Kedem (Eternal God) perspective, the wealth, quality, or standing of a person is irrelevant. Everyone is human, and each person has flaws they must overcome. For believers, they overcome these flaws not for our own betterment, but in service to Yeshua, and to remake ourselves in his image. When H’Meshiah saw his followers, a band of weak willed slaves addicted to idols of this world, how did he respond? He saw humans as they are; broken so badly that we are not capable of saving themselves. He came down as a savior in spite of the inconvenience that humanity had become. He saw humans as humans, seeing past faults, flaws, “blindness”, “lameness”, “disfigurement”, and loved the heart He saved. People tend to see people as something other than people. When a person with a frustrating habit, or annoying personality crosses the path of even a believer, the natural tendency is to see a situation rather than a person. Humans treat other humans the same way we treat possessions or inanimate objects. Like cars: if it works, you like it, perhaps even love it. If it stops working or has some regular mechanical problem, that car becomes an inconvenience, and is viewed as an inconvenience. It is the same with people; a person ceases to be a person when they become un-helpful; when there is no reward involved. Yeshua loved humanity because he understood and saw them as human. In spite of the vast expanse between His divine glory and human brokenness, He invited the ants to join Him in glory. How can we not do the same? People are human and broken, but Elohim Chayim (the living god), a being beyond description has and does love us infinitely. When we see people, we must no see them as potential rewards or incontinences. Not only for the sake of kindness and politeness should we do this, but because such a greater love, kindness and politeness has been bestowed upon us. Consider that next time someone annoys you.
