Better Than
When it comes
to us humans,
there is no such thing
as “better than”.
Sadly,
it wasn’t until
I met my husband
and truly
came to know God,
that I started
to truly understand this
and truly believe this.
For all my childhood,
and well into adulthood,
I falsely believed
other humans
were “better than” me.
They were somehow
so much more –
more intelligent,
more stylish,
more congenial,
more likable,
more capable,
more refined,
more accepted,
more appreciated,
more valued,
more had-it-all-together,
more loved.
The list could go
on and on and on and on . . .
“Why, Stac?”
My husband rarely
called me Stac,
but when he did,
it was always in
moments like this –
when his love for me
caused him to
be frustrated with me
simply because
I didn’t love me
or see me
the way he did.
“Why would you
ever think
people are
better than you?
We are all just people.
No better than.
No less than.
Just people.”
Year after year,
dinner invitation after dinner invitation,
meet and greet after meet and greet,
family get together after family get together,
doorbell after doorbell,
handshake after handshake,
he reminded me of this.
Thankfully,
my man and my God
were on the same page
and both speaking
the same message.
Little by little,
the wall began
to crumble
and I started
to see people
for who they were.
Not someone to avoid.
Not someone to compare me to.
Not someone to be intimidated by.
Not someone to measure up to.
Not someone to impress.
Not someone to dread.
But, instead
someone to love.
A person just like me.
A person who
more than likely
was believing
others were
better than them, too.
Isn’t this the lie
we all believe
until genuine love
breaks through?
We might all have
our differences,
but when it comes
to the heart of a person,
we all long to
know and feel
and believe
we are loved.
We are “equal”.
And. We. Are.
All of us –
created the same,
in the image of God.
All of us –
human through and through.
All of us with
our ups and our downs,
our wins and our losses,
our strengths and our weaknesses,
our successess and our messes,
our tears and our fears,
our awkwardness and our finesse.
And most of all –
all of us
with our own
kind of sins.
Which brings us
to Jesus –
the spotless lamb of God.
He is the
only one
who is
and who will
forever be
better than.
He longs
to take away
all that would
make any of us
feel less than
or better than
and replace it
with the
only thing
that will
truly make
us all feel equal –
a revelation of His love.
My husband knew
he was loved
by the King of kings
and the Lord of lords.
Oh, how he knew.
And it was this
knowing he was
that caused him
to be able
to love others
with no strings attached,
with no hidden agendas,
with no holding back.
And he wanted
that for me.
And more than
my man wanted
that for me,
God wants it
for all of us.
To know His love
that we might
see clearly
to love others.
Not better than.
Not less than.
Brothers.
Sisters.
When it comes
to us humans,
there is no such thing
as “better than”.
We are all
“beloved”.
You and me,
beloved by God.
What could be
better than
that?~
~Stacy
