Throughout the race, God has been teaching me a lot about what it means to honor people. I am realizing that honor means to consider all people more valuable and significant than myself; realizing that honor is not a scheme for quick conversions, nor a subtle ploy to alter the behavior of people; realizing honor comes with no strings attached, no response required; realizing that I am called to honor because God is honor.
Currently I am reading a book, rightly fitting, called Honor, by Fawn Parish. This book is challenging me even more to the depth in which I honor people.
“When we honor people, it doesn’t always change them. Jesus, knowing full well of Judas’ intent to betray Him, honored Judas by washing His feet.”
This small statement completely shook me.
And this is what it got me thinking:
Jesus knew full well that Judas was going to betray Him. Judas was not a distant stranger in Jesus’ life. This man was one of Jesus’ twelve disciples; he was one of the closest people in Jesus’ life, and they had an intimate relationship with one another. If Jesus wasn’t God, and didn’t know the hearts and minds of men, He probably would have thought Judas was someone He could trust the most. But Jesus did know that Judas was going to betray Him, and for only a couple pieces of silver.
Sometimes it seems like it’s easier to honor people we don’t know because they can’t really hurt us. But what if we did honor all people, even the ones we knew were betraying us behind our backs?
It’s the very thing Jesus did. He didn’t confront Judas on the matter, he didn’t tell all the other disciples to stay away from him, he didn’t even reject Judas by dismantling his apostleship. On the contrary, Jesus actually got down on His knees and washed Judas’ feet… one of the most honorable things someone could have done in that period of time.
Jesus always fought with His love by honoring every single person He came in contact with, even the ones that despised Him.
As a Christian, I am called to be an imitator of Jesus. Jesus didn’t come to judge the world, but to save it. He came to save it by pouring out His love on every single person the Lord has created: the ones that love Him and the ones that hate Him; male and female; every tribe, every tongue, and every nation; every denomination, Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Animist, Atheist. Everybody. This is honor at it’s highest, and this is the honor I am called to as a woman of God.
I apologize to anyone reading this that I have dishonored by turning the other cheek to or automatically assuming the worst in. I am sorry for the times I have played Judas.
My prayer is that I would have a heart more like Jesus, and that I would love without condition. My prayer is that I would be a woman who would get down on my knees and serve others, even if I knew they had malicious thoughts against me. My desire is that I would strive to be the salt and light Jesus calls me to be to all people, helping to preserve this world instead of tainting it.
For this is the will of God:
to honor all people.
1 Peter 2:17
