Today, I had an unexpected babysitting job with one of my favorite kids. This required two buses. My first bus was on time but just a little traffic threw it off schedule. As the bus approached my transfer stop, I watched the bus I needed to get on next, drive by. I got off at the stop, took out my tablet and searched for alternate routes. Thankfully, another bus was scheduled in 15 minutes. I would be cutting it close but would still get to my client in a timely manner.
The weather was gorgeous. I sat at the bus stop and noticed the school directly across the street. A large mural of children and parents, lined the entrance gate. However, you could not see faces. There were only silhouettes. The line of bustling families went all the way down the block. I looked at each form. Some were tall. Some were short. There were clearly girls, boys, men and women. Different shapes of human profiles were playing. Different sizes of human profiles held hands or balloons. With all their differences, there were two very clear elements they shared.
They were all human and they were all going to be educated.
…”Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance but the LORD looks at the heart.”
I Samuel 16:7 NIV
The viewer does not need to see faces or colors. The viewer does not need to know what clothes are worn. All one needs to see is humans. See what God sees when he looks at every single one of us.
Riding the bus is teaching me how to do just that.