ORDINARY PEOPLE - THEIR WORTH

Jesus Christ was always with ordinary people.

No one was so insignificant to fall below Jesus’radar of care and attention. Mahatma Gandhi was once asked why he always travelled in the lowest third class railway compartment.“Because there is no fourth class,”was his reply. That was precisely our Lord’s attitude. This was so clearly seen when Jesus observed the widow and her mite (Mark 12.41-44). Jesus brought the best out of people (Matthew 8.5-13).

But Jesus could put the best into people (John 7.53-8.11).

Jesus cared for the young (Mark 9.14-31) and sympathised with the old (Luke 7.11-17).

Jesus saw the best when society condemned (Luke 18.9-14) and gave the best where society despised (Luke 7.36-50).

But in our day people are devalued, their worth underestimated, their talents unused, their feelings hurt, and their living standards jeopardised. Major industries shed thousands of jobs. Banks close innumerable branches with the loss of countless positions.

Household names close so many department stores with the loss of hundreds of jobs. But these job losses are people and attack homes, destroy standards of decent families, and impose severe restrictions upon many young lives.

The worth of the individual person is grossly devalued.

People are far more than numbers in a firm’s books. In London this year multiple murders have caused indescribable suffering and loss to so many families.

What a waste of life. Women and children are exploited for indecent and base sexual desires.

What a terrible affront to human decency and dignity.

In God’s estimation people have a God-given value. Because “God created man in His own image”. In the image of God he created them, male and female he created them’(Genesis 1.27). That means human beings have an inherent worth bestowed upon them by our eternal God. God’s glory is reflected in human dignity. God’s holiness is mirrored in humanity’s goodness, uprightness and moral behaviour.

God’s love for people is translated into care and kindness among people.

All that and more is contained in the great theological expression,“God made us in his own image.” But the inevitable conclusion cannot be avoided. In the multiple and global examples of human conduct, or rather misconduct, God’s glory is tarnished, God’s holiness is besmirched, God’s love trodden under foot. The God-blessed estimation of worth and dignity in every person young and old is thoroughly devalued by terrible scenes of inhumanity.

I have been a parish minister now for well over fifty years.

My memories are brim full of wonderful individuals who were abundantly rich in character and human qualities.

My experiences have been varied. I have often cried bitterly over the events that hurt me and injured others.

But my preponderant experiences have been full of encouraging events wherein individuals have shown a depth of feeling, a strength in action, flowing from characters rich, thoughtful and deep.

These wonderful people will never feature in television news or newspaper reports.

But their wholesome lives in word, deed and example are noted in the Lamb’s book of life.

You can be sure that your own faithful and kindly life has not gone unnoticed by the Lord.

“Let us praise ordinary people whose lives are not recorded in history and whose deeds do not win the applause of men. In every way possible let us sound out the fanfare for the common man as Aaron Copland did in music.

We depend so much upon other people. The shop assistant, the bin men, the bus driver. The countless unseen hands making our daily life more tolerable, the hidden lives whose efforts we enjoy.

The celebrations for the ordinary people must never grow silent. But there is something greater. Jesus takes the frail stuff of our humanity as the living material to build the kingdom of God in our time. Your praise is today’s music of the kingdom.

The examples in your behaviour are the paths of the kingdom on which others are encouraged to walk.

Your witness for Jesus helps Jesus to reach his people. Remember the unseen Jesus is seen, heard, and encountered in and through us. What a wonderful calling.

“We are ambassadors for Christ. God makes his appeal through us. Be ye reconciled to God”(2 Corinthians 5.20).