And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

I like to feel good about myself.

You too?

I find it tempting to feel better about myself at the expense of judging others, especially in the privacy of my own mind.

You too?

It is easy to watch the vitriol that happens on the internet and decide they need to do better at seeing the image of Jesus in those they are lambasting.

It is effortless to look at the women gathered in impenetrable circles at church and think that if they saw Jesus in those around them, they would be more inclusive.

It is troublesome to aim the same spotlight at myself.

Yet I must. 

If I am to live in Jesus who is the Truth, if I am to allow the Spirit to mold me into someone who looks like Him, I must be honest with myself. I must step into the Light that allows no shadows to remain.

Here is the truth.

When I erupt into hissing rage at my children, it is Jesus’ face that flinches back.

When I spit a sideways look and sigh at my husband, it is Jesus’ eyes that fill with hurt.

When I impatiently wrench my car into the path of the elderly driver beside me, it is Jesus’ mouth that compresses in fear.

How can I do this?

How can I treat the One who made me as though He were dirt under my feet?

How can I regard the One who gave me new life as nothing more than an irritation?

I forget.

I forget to see those around me as an image of the One to whom I owe everything.

Imago Dei. The doctrine of the image of God.

This is the doctrine that says if every human is created in the image of God, then how we treat others is a reflection of how we truly feel about God.

Jesus, as He did most for most laws, raised this to a higher level. Jesus said that when we do something to another person, we are not just reflecting our view of Him, we are actually doing that action to Him.

Whatever I do to those in my little world I am doing to Jesus.

It is a frightening thought.

Perhaps I need to be frightened. Perhaps it would help me to remember.

To remember that the way I treat the people in my world is the way I treat Christ.

Lord, have mercy. Help me to remember.

Into Thy hands. Only You can help me.

Thee I adore. I trust that You will, indeed, help me to remember.

Art Credits: Christ in the House of Martha and Mary by Siemiradzki; Let the Little Children Come unto Jesus by Bloch; Gethsemane by Bloch; Christ Healing the Blind Man by Le Sueur; Christ in the House of Martha and Mary by Vermeer; Christ and Samaritan Woman by Siemiradzki