Michael Leach, author of Why Stay Catholic, offers five ways to remember the truth “that we all wear the face of Christ in a unique way and that what we do unto anyone else we literally do unto ourselves.” Here’s the first one:
When standing in line at the checkout I remind myself that the individual in front of me is the Christ and that the injunction to love her as I love myself is literally true. A little miracle happens: I not only love her but like her, and if her credit card is no good or her kohlrabi doesn’t register, I don’t get mad. By the time it is my turn to chat with the dark-eyed checkout girl from Nicaragua I am madly in love.
This is a concrete example of how we can bring God’s kingdom to earth by showing respect and kindness to others. Bob, you are right that it is easy to pass along God’s love but we need to be intentional about living this way.
I’ve always liked Mike’s point of view. And I bet as soon as he gets to the check out girl and smiles at her she will smile back. It’s really so easy to pass along God’s love!