I hastily searched through our rather large cabinet of canned goods, hoping to find non-expired green beans. I was asked to pick a vegetable for our dinner, and, being as green beans are a favorite of mine, I instantly decided upon green beans. Whenever we buy cans of any kind, we stack them in a certain cabinet. Sadly, some of these canned goods get pushed into the back, often being forgotten about for who knows how long. My dad calls this cabinet the ‘catacombs’ because of how long they get practically buried underneath other ones. Finally, I found a can of green beans. Though much encouraged after what seemed like ages of searching for a single can, I still needed to find another can--one can would too quickly be devoured by my family. I started taking cans out, looking for green labels around cans. All of our canned vegetables always have a light green label around them, making them easier to find than most. Finally, buried in the far left corner, I spotted a can with a green label. Smiling with relief, I reached back and grabbed it. Then I looked more closely at the can I had in my hand, and I realized something. I was holding a can of spinach, not green beans. From a distance, it looked like the can could have contained green beans. But when I actually took the time to look, I found it was something quite different than I imagined.
Sometimes we label people by their looks. And why not? Maybe they’re dressed in a skull jacket with chains dangling down, maybe their face is barely noticeable under all their make-up, maybe they don’t look the smartest. You know why not? Because John 13:34-35 says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” It doesn’t matter how they look, we’re supposed to love them regardless. If we can get over constantly labeling people by their looks, we can actually get to know them and find out just how special God created them. It doesn’t matter if everybody is making fun of them for their looks, Jesus loves them. Jesus loved them so much, that if that were the only person in the world, Jesus would have still died for that person. Jesus loves those people, so why can’t you stop labeling them long enough to love them?
Kayla Joy
