Every one unique

There has been much discussion in recent years about the involvement of British troops in Afghanistan, especially as the casualty numbers continue to mount.  I have no doubt that there will be relatives of some of the currently active service personnel who are asking themselves questions like, "Is it worth it?"  and "Why are our troops there?"  There do appear to have been some positives arising from our presence in the country.  I was watching a news report this morning which highlighted the advances in education for girls in Afghanistan in recent years.  Under the Taliban, eduction for girls was banned; now many girls have access to at least some eduction.  The news report featured the Afghanistan minister for eduction, Farook Wardak.  When his face appeared on the TV screen I was very surprised at how much he looked like Dave Lee Travis!  (Can you spot the difference?)

The resemblance is rather uncanny!  Long lost brothers, perhaps?

Over the years I have known a few pairs of identical twins, and some have been incredibly difficult to tell apart.  Yet every human being is a unique creation of God; no two people are exactly the same in every way, even if they look very similar on the outside.  And the Bible tells us that not only is every person God's unique creation, but that God loves each and every human being!

Often people are described in terms of the various groups with which we identify them: the young, the elderly, the disabled, the asylum seekers, the homeless, the foreigners,  the celebrities etc.  When we lump people together like that we can mask their individuality and uniqueness.

One of the most noticeable aspects of Jesus' ministry is how he treated people as individuals.  In the midst of a large crowd he heard the cry of blind beggar Bartimaeus, called him to him and restored his sight; in the middle of another large crowd he spotted tax collector Zacchaeus up a tree; not only did he stop and enter into a conversation with Zacchaeus, he left the crowd behind and went to Zacchaeus' house to spend time with him.  The lives of Bartimaeus and Zacchaeus, and countless other individuals, were completed changed though meeting Jesus.

Jesus is still in the business of changing lives today.  God's love is for every human being, and that includes me and you!