i have issues masquerading as me

​In his devotional this morning, Bob Goff challenges the readers to separate people's issues from the person.

I thought about that. I thought about it in terms of me. Because I have issues. Like buckets and buckets of them. But in so many ways, those issues aren't me. They aren't an accurate reflection of my heart. Many times they aren't an accurate reflection of who I want to be.

They are issues.

Some I'm working on. Some I'm not aware of. Some are only issues because you and I disagree on whether it's an issue or not.

The thing I love about Jesus and the way he loves me - he treats me like I don't have issues. I show up here this morning and he doesn't want to talk about my issues, he wants to talk about how he loves me.

We can fall into a trap of being just the opposite. Walk into a coffee shop this morning, or into your own office, and you're going to hear people discussing people's issues. Which is scary, really, because what if a lot of people are like me, and their issues are really masquerading as the real person beneath those issues.

What if we miss out on being kind to someone or discovering something very lovable about them while we're trying to fix their issues? Or worse, while we're beating them up for having them?

What if the real challenge isn't loving people in spite of their issues, but recognizing their issues are likely masks tempting us to not love them at all.

Often, the most lovable part of someone isn't what you see. It's what you find after you are willing to look beneath a mask or two.

That's hard work. I know. But love is always worth finding...