Messy People

After an eight-hour flight back from London, I was getting my things together to get off the plane when I looked around and noticed what a mess it was.

Blankets everywhere. Pillows on the floor. Empty cups, food wrappers, napkins stuffed into seat pockets. It looked like a few hundred people had spent the last eight hours throwing a party.

Well, maybe some of them did.

And that started me thinking.

Where there are people, there's going to be a mess.

If you want your life to stay pristine, the easiest way to accomplish that is to keep people out of it. When you let people get close, their mess tends to travel with them.

Don't let anyone get too familiar. Don't get involved in their problems. Keep your distance from anyone who might complicate your otherwise orderly existence and you'll probably have a pretty clean life.

And a pretty lonely one.

People are messy. They bring their baggage, their problems, their bad decisions, and occasionally their drama. And sometimes, if I'm being honest, I am the one who made the huge mess.

Jesus knew that better than anyone.

He surrounded Himself with people who were constantly getting things wrong. They argued, doubted, betrayed Him, and generally made His life more complicated.

But He kept loving them.

I wonder how often we miss an opportunity to love someone because we don't want to deal with the mess that comes with them.

It's easy to love people from a comfortable distance. It's another thing entirely to let them into your life.

The people who make your life richer are sometimes the same ones who make it messier.

And maybe that's not such a bad trade.

First Light
www.firstlightblog.org

A daily reflection on faith, leadership, and life. One honest thought each morning to help you start grounded, focused, and full of grace before the world even wakes up.

By Nathan Clark

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