Potential gods and godesses

Earlier I was reading a quote from C.S. Lewis' sermon entitled "The Weight of Glory." He notes that, "It is a serious thing, to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you sw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship [a resident of heaven]...it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another...There are no 'ordinary' people. You have never talked to a mere mortal..."

C.S. Lewis invokes both the awareness of the Kingdom of Heaven and the remembrance that we are made in God's image, two powerful perspectives to highlight our everyday interactions. Its quite a lot to think about: the person who nearly rammed my car making an illegal u-turn on sunday could someday be my dinner partner in heaven; the neighbors accross the street who only speak in shout volume and only after 10 o'clock at night, and only outside on the street were made in the image of the One True God; the professor who questioned my integrity and shook the foundations on which I built my character may be the first one to greet me in heaven. Self-righteousness is not a virtue, but I feel that many of us, especially those who walk with God, often fall prey to this fissure of sin.

To be clear, Lewis is not touting tolerance or indulgence as the Way. He clarifies, "[take] each other seriously--no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption. And our charity must be a real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinner..."

To slough off the sin of self-righteousness is not to take on the un-biblical burden of tolerance. It is to love the sinner deeply, to cherish them in their image of God and possibility of eternity, and to encourage them along the way. Not to say "I cannot love you because you sin," nor to say, "its okay, I will love you and the sin because that is who you are," but to say "I cannot accept your sin as the best reflection of the heavenly being you were meant to be, but I love you within and through the sin."

I don't think that position is easy to find. I don't think its like walking along a wide trail through a flat prairie holding hands with all of the Christians and non-Christians alike. I think its a balance beam. You know, the ones you see skinny gymnasts doing backflips on that look to be about 2 inches wide? In reality, the balance beam is four inches wide and usually four feet off the ground. Its a dangerous distance to spin and leap and flip around. But that is the narrow path we are called to. Not to avoid others and consider them below us. Not to become dragged down and fall in the trough. Though there are supposed to be mats on the floor to protect you, often in life there are no mats, and sometimes there seems to be no floor, just an endless fall. Merely to come alongside them and help them balance on their own 4" wide beam. The key is to stay on the beam, hold your brothers and sisters up no matter what you think they do or do not deserve, and continue on this journey loving deeply and treasuring people. All people, because they are made in the image of our God, and they are, just like you and me, chosen by Him to be a part of His family.