Relationships are sometimes like peanut butter and tomato sandwiches. Sound crazy? Let me explain. Recently this wonderfully flavorful entree was presented to me quite unexpectedly. I LOVE tomatoes and have never really rejected the opportunity to devour peanut butter, but this combination was a little out of my league in becoming adventuresome. Having been placed in a position of possibly insulting the bearer of unique cuisine, I found I had no other choice but to try just a morsel. The first bite presented itself with a familiar sweet, smoothness of the peanut butter with the tanginess of the fresh, juicy, and very meaty tomato. Love at first taste!! Why didn’t I try this sooner? Probably because this just didn’t seem very familiar to me.

Sometimes we treat acquaintances and some relationships the same way. We always want to be around people that we are comfortable with and who make us feel good or important. In the process, we are cheating ourselves out of God ordained experiences that could possibly raise us to another level of wisdom and understanding.

We are often found in situations with people who are “different” than we are. Our natural tendency is to shy away from anything or anyone that doesn’t fit our definition of “normal”. “I’m talking about even other believers, some possibly in our own churches. Like the unfamiliar food item, our brain starts to categorize and match this new acquaintance with our mental preference lists or biases. Many times we reject others or find ourselves rejected due to some of the following reasons: She/He is too short/tall, fat/thin, good-looking/plain, white/black/red/yellow/etc., talks too much/little, is illiterate/educated, poor/wealthy, dirty/clean; the list goes on and on. It doesn’t take very long before our prejudice is justified and we leave that person standing, never realizing or caring that God may have used that moment for His glory and possibly may have used you to minister to another.

If Jesus had this same mind set, where would we be right now? The blind and crippled would have been passed by because of course they were damaged goods. Mary Magdalene would have also been rejected for being so vile and unclean. Even the twelve would have been over looked for being mere fishermen and tax collectors, except maybe Dr. Luke. Get the point?

We need to ask God for forgiveness for our ignorance, prejudice, and pride. And while we are on our faces, prostrate before Him, why don’t we ask Him for the strength to take risks in our relationships with others and to allow us to love others with His love not ours. For, we are all different and strange through our own eyes but we are all the same through His.

Now, are you ready to take a big bite out of humanities’ banquet table? You might be surprised how much you enjoy the variety of God’s human creations.

Taste and see that the Lord is good. Ps. 34:8