Everybody, Always

I got into the back of the limo and talked to the driver through the
window dividing us as we traversed Orlando on the highway. The driver
was a friendly, engaging guy. After we’d driven a short time, I said, “You
know, this is the first time I’ve ever been to Orlando, but if someone
asked me what I thought about everyone in the city, you know what I’d
tell them? I’d say I think everyone in Orlando is just terrific. Do you
know why? It’s simple—because you’re a nice guy!”
I thought how the opposite was true as well. If the limo driver had
been mean or rude or pushy with me and someone asked me what I
thought of everyone in Orlando, I would have said, “I think everyone in
Orlando is mean or rude or pushy.” Neither statement would be true, but
somehow, because of how we’re wired, when we’ve met one person we
feel as if we’ve met everybody.
Think about it. If you know just one person in Mexico or the
Philippines or Bolivia or Lichtenstein and something happens in one of
those countries, don’t you feel a kinship with everyone there? It feels like
we’ve met everybody in those countries even though, obviously, we
haven’t yet.
I bet this is what Jesus meant when He told His friends that people
would understand who He was by watching how we treated each other.
Early on I thought big acts of generosity or great sermons or arenas full
of people singing songs would help us understand God’s love for us. He
said it was none of these. Jesus told His friends that letting people see the
way we love each other would be the best way to let people know about
Him. It wouldn’t be because we’d given them a lot of directions or
instructions or because they memorized or studied all the right things. It
would be because someone met you or me and felt as if they’d just met
Jesus. I think what He meant was He wanted someone to meet a person
who loved Him and then feel like they had just met heaven— everyone
there.
We drove a little farther through the city, and the driver told me about
his life and the people he loved. He also said he’d been driving limos for