People; the masterpiece.
I wonder what it would look like to actually see other people the way Christ does. To look at an individual and have all the extra time and rhythm of life stop and then to just see them. I watched the movie Free Solo recently… Alex Hannold is extraordinary. An advocate for equality, equity and the environment. Alex Hannold and I probably see the world differently. We probably yearn for different things. But we probably both love standing on top of cliffs while our breath is pulled away from our lungs simply in the wake of realizing how small we are; just a spec on the face of the earth. When I started thinking about how extraordinary Alex Hannold is, it settled on me- that every single human is individually a variation of God’s expression of art; a piece of God’s heart. A piece of God’s heart. Every single person. After watching Free Solo, I remembered wishing I could see every person the way God does; it occurred to me that if I am unable to fully see people the way God does, maybe I could better see an individual person if I looked for God’s design in them. I don’t mean looking for a deity in the human person, but instead finding a unique variation or expression of God in every person. When God designed Alex Hannold, He showcased wilderness; unharnessed drive and dedication, fearlessness and the unstoppable. When God designed Mother Teresa and Harriet Tubman, He displayed His wild compassion, selflessness, advocacy, and pursuit for justice. Mother Terresa, Alex Honnold and Harriet Tubman were all people. Extraordinary and renown people, but simply people all the same. How often do I miss seeing God’s compassion, or heart for justice, or adventure or His love for art and music, or His creative design in athletic ability, when I overlook people? Considering that God uniquely designed every person like this, I can absolutely say I miss all of this constantly.
Training my heart and having my heart redirected in order to actually see people the way God designed them should also change the way I judge/view people: If I view others from the vantage point of their irreplicable talent, ability, mindset and gifting, then I should see people as individuals, art-pieces, and one-of-a-kind creations. In all honesty, I rarely see people this way. Usually I judge people, assume things and project my own prejudices onto others in seconds, without ever saying a word to them. And I miss God’s wonder. I think what really made me want to change the way I see people, stems from a sadness I have when I think about all of the relationships, friendships and connections I miss out on by disregarding others; negating who they actually are.
One of my closest friends has an incredible talent to connect with others. After simply one conversation, she is able to have found common interests and planned a time to meet up again with just about anyone. It is truly incredible to watch. Seeing her use her amazing talent to communicate and connect with others always makes me wish I could do the same… When I've asked her how she is able to do it, she almost always says something along the lines of. “Well, if you just get to know someone…” or “Well, I just talked to them for a little while and then…” I think the key to her success is almost always the way she uses her time. My friend will create specific slots of time to meet with people, go on trips with people or intentionally invite other people to hang out with her. By putting in the time to know other people for the way they are, my friend is able to better see people as individuals. She can see their talents, their likes, dislikes and passions. She is able to form relationships with people coming from various backgrounds who have different mindsets and unique interests. I think that’s a lot like the way Jesus lived. Jesus spent His time to know others well. Jesus spent time with all types of people and had a core group that was highly diversified in their backgrounds, upbringings, and likely their values: Jesus ate with pharisees, talked with prostitutes, spent tons of time with fishermen and had super poor parents. Jesus’s life displayed how precious our differences are; how every person is unique and central in being an individual piece of God’s plan.
In order to value the art, we must know the value of the artist… a cringy saying, but very correct, I think. I have played the violin for a very long time, and after hearing lots of violin music, many different players and various instruments, I can tell the skill of a player of 25 years from the skill of a player with several months’ experience. This differentiation comes from the time I have spent playing and listening to violin music. Similarly, I think the more we seek to know God, and know His word and the truth that He has woven into life, the better we will be at seeing His design in other people. God’s design in every person could be compared to a different instrument or style of art, each with exceptional display of skill and precision. If you have ever been to an art gallery, you have probably seen art that immediately caught your eye, and art that was very different and took more of your time to understand… both pieces are in the gallery. You could even compare people to these pieces, only they are both created by the same artist.
There are so many different parts of the Bible that highlight God’s creative design in people, but the passage that most sticks out to me is 1 Corrintians 12. Here, Paul reminds us that every person has been gifted with individuality. In fact, without our individuality and unique gifts/attributes, God’s plan and design for life would not work. Every person is like a vital, yet different part of the body. Paul makes the analogy that if every part of the body were to be the eye or every part were to be the hand, then the body would be functionless. The same is true of us as people. I am very different from Alex Hannold, who is very different from Harriet Tubman… life would be incredibly different without all of them. It’s crazy to think that every single person has a unique and important purpose that no one else can fulfill. Everyone does. The better I am able to know and love God, as the artist, and people, the art, for their individuality and purpose, the more I will be able to participate in and see others’ purposes radically change the world.
