OTHER

Some people are drawn to thoroughbreds. Others are drawn to mongrels. But almost nobody is drawn to misbehaving weirdos with a special gift for total oddness. Except Jesus. Only problem with that is, He expects us to do as He did.

Jesus' lineage was full of skeletons. So were many of His friends and acquaintances. He so surrounded Himself with the misfits and marginalized of His day that He made it a field day for the gossips of Palestine.

'If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.' -- George Bernard Shaw

If you bring it down to today and the world we live in, the best thing you can say about some of the people in the category Jesus hung out with is that they are round pegs in square holes (or vice versa). They don't do well in group conversations. A college education was not something they ever pursued or frankly, ever dreamed about. When the thought of exercise strikes them, they quickly lie down and elevate their feet until the thought passes. They don't pay their bills. They're messed up.

The truth is, we all are -- messed up, that is. All of us have a tragic flaw or a fatal weakness - or five. Not one of us is without spot or blemish. That messed up 'other' guy over there isn't cared for less by Christ than you.

If Jesus is to be believed and followed, there is no 'other.' There is only 'oneanother.' There are no outsiders because nobody is outside of God's love reach. Jesus taught us to see others not as 'others,' but as 'oneofus.'

The oneanother connection cannot be broken, it can only be denied.

And be blessed.