Fresh Manna
by Pastor Tim Burt

Last month, Renee and I drove an hour to see our favorite gardens in Minnesota! While on the drive there, she commented how the sky was cloudless and so brilliantly blue. It was not just a beautiful day outside. It was a spectacularly beautiful day—the kind of day that makes you stop to find a way to enjoy it.

Have you ever met a person who is like that beautiful day? A person who is so kind and wonderfully warm to talk to that you just want to pause what you are doing and enjoy the conversation and warmth of the moment? I hope you have some of those people in your life. My wife Renee and my daughter Stephanie are two of those people. And by the grace of God, I have others. But I think that’s an exception. I hope I am wrong! I certainly hope you do! In general, and unfortunately, I think we just don’t meet enough people like that in life.

There is something unique about this kind of person. A person like this is one who has a sincere and genuine love for people inside and out. They have a sincere caring for people that just seems to ooze through their pores. They seem to make you feel like you’ve been a longtime friend just minutes after you’ve met them. They are interested in you. They engage you in the conversation. They are not cynical or judgmental. They are usually looking for the best in people and even often take the time to exhort others about the good they see in them. These are people you’d love to get to know better—people you’d love to hang with. They are like those rare (at least for Minnesota) cloudless brilliant blue sky days that almost take your breath away. Don’t you wish you could be like that?

This kind of person is described in Daniel 12:3 (NLT) “Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever.”

There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus was exactly this way. He loved people because they were His creation. He loved them so much that He was ready to be beaten and die for them, even while many of them were cynical and judgmental of Him. It didn’t deter Him. He was a lover of people. He lived selflessly to study, to pray, to teach and share, and to minister to those the Father brought to Him—sometimes even at the expense of eating and sleeping. He selflessly loved people.

We are capable of learning to be that way and to be better at living that way if we will only see people through Jesus’ eyes. He wasn’t looking for their sins. He wanted to forgive them. He wasn’t looking for their flaws. He wanted to help them. It’s only when you begin to see people through Jesus’eyes that you see people in an entirely new light. It’s in those moments that the Holy Spirit floods your heart with a supernatural love that spills over to others and transforms you into the “wise” who “will shine as bright as the sky and turn many to righteousness causing you to shine like stars forever.”

Does this sound too difficult or lofty? You’d be surprised. Just stop yourself some time and look at people through Jesus’ eyes. Desire Heaven and blessing for them. Desire to see them saved from death and cursing. Desire to learn about them without judging them. You’ll sense that supernatural transforming love bubble up like a spring from your heart. Then let Jesus come out! You’ll love the moment, and so will they. You will remind them of one of those perfect deep blue sky days that you just want to stop and enjoy! They will want to enjoy you!

Job 29:23-24 “They longed for me to speak as they longed for rain. They waited eagerly, for my words were as refreshing as the spring rain. When they were discouraged, I smiled at them. My look of approval was precious to them.”

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In His love,
Pastor Tim Burt

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