Lord, forgive me for the times when I have ignored people. Help me today to treat people in a way that recognizes their great worth.

Taking Each Other Seriously 

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. 
—LUKE 12:6-7

C.S. Lewis wrote, "There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.… This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind…which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each  other seriously." For the Christian, taking one another seriously means understanding that everyone we encounter—the cranky store clerk, the sullen teenage son, or the employee caught stealing—is made in God's image. Good exists in everyone because we each reflect a good God.

Since God gave his Son so that all who believe in him would have eternal life, we are compelled to join him in loving others, celebrating their worth as God's creation. In light of God's love and sacrifice for every person we meet, how can we fail to treat each one with courtesy?