Do you talk to strangers when you’re out and about? My husband and children tease me that people will just come up to me and talk with me about their lives. I’ll stand in the Walmart and have a conversation with people I just met like they are family. It used to drive my family crazy, but now they just see it as mom doing ministry. I used to say I had a sign on my forehead that read “Come tell me you story; I’ll listen.”
Have you also noticed how you can meet another believer at a retreat or seminar and the same thing happens? You are suddenly like best friends who’ve known each other forever? Did you know there is a reason this happens?
John 17:22 says “I have given them the glory that you gave Me, that they may be one as We are one:” Jesus made a deposit into each believer. He has shared His glory with us and we are carriers of it. Others who may not know us recognize God’s glory in our lives. It is like the song the choir of the Ben Hill Church sang at First United Methodist Church one Sunday: “The Jesus in me loves the Jesus in you.” We recognize it in one another and it draws us close, making an instant connection. It is why a perfect stranger will tell you their life story leaving nothing out. It is why someone who doesn’t know Christ is drawn to you. The glory of God is like a magnet drawing others. It isn’t us they’re drawn to, it is God’s glory. Whether people like to admit it or not, they are drawn to the authentic Jesus.
When you look in the mirror, remember you’re a carrier of the glory of God. You’re a carrier of Jesus. This should change the way you carry yourself and the way you deal with others.