I recently met a friend’s cousin over dinner. She and her husband have lived in many of the less-traveled places where I have operations; places like Papua New Guinea and Fiji. As the evening progressed, she revealed many of the family traits I knew.
When we dropped her at home, I turned to another and said, “It is so obvious they are family.”
“Yes, isn’t it.”
I was later reminded that the two individuals may be family, however they never knew each other when they were young. They grew up in slightly different eras. While the elder generation was familiar, nothing else was. From all external perspectives, the lack of a shared childhood did not create critical differences. They were family.
I am working towards a goal where someone recognizes our team by her/his actions, not the title or reporting line. The model this weekend reminds me that there is something more than name or place that links us together. It is found in our core and what we hold most closely to our hearts. A wisdom father observed; “Every person who believes that Jesus is, in fact, the Messiah, is God-begotten. If we love the One who conceives the child, we’ll surely love the child who was conceived.” (1 John 5.1)
Some have used the saying as a hammer, demanding that we follow a rigid (other her/his) view. I hear it quite differently. If I embrace compassion and love with every fiber of my being I am embracing God and everything that is God-begotten. If I extend the view further out, it could be stated in another way. If I embrace the principles of service as a goal within itself, I am embracing what God has done for me as well as all things God-action related.
Connections occur on many different levels. Our actions tell a clear story, creating links to others that have chosen to walk a related path. Bluntly, others can see what we struggle to grasp. I recently saw what two could not. Today I hope others see what I often cannot.
