Originally written by Dave Stewart
What does the term “created in the image of God” really mean?
We know it originates from Genesis 1 where the Bible says this in verse 27: “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”
It doesn’t mean physically we look like God since we know God is Spirit, not flesh from John 4:24. So we can probably conclude that the image of God more accurately describes our intended reflection of God in things like caring, love, patience, selflessness and…compassion. God exhibits all of these characteristics and we should too.
If there is one thing I’ve learned as I study the example of Jesus and as we pursue a more sensitive heart for the unreached in 2013 it’s this: the best way to grow your capacity and desire for compassion is to hang out with two kinds of people – those who are hurting and those who inspire you.
Neither type is hard to find. You just can’t be too busy to notice.
I’d like to introduce you to some people I’ve met in the last month on a visit to Southeast Asia. Most of them I know very little about. But each of them inspires me.
They inspire me to care more, to love more, to give more, to do more.
Even though you haven’t met them in person, I’ll bet there’s someone like them near you right now. And for every one near you, there are thousands around the world desperately in need of a Savior. My desire is that this thought will lead you to focus this year on choosing compassion. And then see what happens.
The first person I want to introduce to you is My Nguyen (in the photo).
I met her on the streets of Saigon in January. I didn’t even see My (pronounced Me) at first as we passed her by because she was sitting on the concrete, up against a wall in the darkness as hundreds of busy people walked by. But my friend noticed her and after we had walked another 50 yards, he suddenly stopped and said, “Did you see that woman back there?’
Of course, my response was, “Which one?”
He replied, “The old lady sitting in the dark. I feel like I should go back and talk to her.”
Having seen this urging in others and myself many times before, I recognized it for what it was. “That’s the Holy Spirit telling you to go back. Come on.”
We went back and my traveling partner began a conversation in her language. My told us she is 87 years old and living alone on the streets of this city of 10 million people. I noticed right away she had a bathroom scale sitting next to her. My friend explained to me that this is how she makes a little money each day. For the equivalent of about 10 U.S. cents, people step on her scale and read their weight. She obviously hadn’t been very busy this day.
My buddy asked her in Vietnamese if he could go get her some food. She quietly said she wasn’t really hungry but she was very thirsty. We bought her a large bottle of water…she took a big swallow and thanked us for it.
As we asked more questions we learned that My had no close family; amazingly, she shared that she had been a widow for 47 years! Although she never revealed how her husband died, that timeline put his death right in the middle of the war.
She asked about family; she told us she had some distant relatives but hadn’t seen them in years.
I spoke with her softly through translation and asked her if she knew Jesus loved her. She smiled softly and explained to us that she is a Buddhist, but it’s ok because she prays whenever she passes the Catholic church. I tried to gently explain to her about Jesus being the way, the truth and the life and she politely explained that I shouldn’t worry as she was respectful of all religions. It just didn’t seem important to her; she wasn’t interested.
After 20 minutes of sitting in the dark with her, we did all we could. We gave her some extra cash then each held one of her hands and prayed with her. We said goodbye and wished her the best.
As I turned to look at her through glassy eyes one more time, I had two distinct thoughts racing through my mind. The first was the sad reality that this woman has been a widow for almost half a century. I wondered aloud, “How long do you think it has been since someone held her hand?”
Then the next thought consumed me. What if this dear lady had lived all these many years in an environment where no one cared for or noticed her, no one reached out to help her physically or emotionally and even worse, no one brought her Good News spiritually…and now at such an advanced age her eternity just simply didn’t matter to her anymore?
What if there had been a window of opportunity earlier in her life for someone to take the hope and promise of Jesus to this dear woman…but no one did?
Would you mind stopping right now and lifting a prayer for this beautiful woman, My, a lost soul created in the image of our God?
