Alva Review-Courier -

I must be the most unlikely person to give a sermon, but several years ago while feeding the cows I had a thought that profoundly changed how I saw other people.

While far from being anything close to what you might describe as a perfect Christian, I nonetheless believe that I was created by God. Now obviously this is not some revolutionary thought, but instead the underpinning of Christianity. But if I recognize myself as being a creation of God, then it likewise means that, logically, every other person is also a creation of God, regardless of their beliefs (or lack thereof), their personality, the color of their skin, their national origin, etc.

In the past I was probably like many in that I treated others that thought or looked different than me with skepticism, caution or unfortunately, in some cases, with disdain. However, as I was feeding my cows that day, I realized that if I was treating another one of God's creations with disrespect, I was actually being disrespectful to God himself.

As I tried to reconcile this with the reality of others, some of whom are outwardly and consciously disdainful of God and others, I realized that not only had God created me, but he had also given me a purpose. With that said, despite searching most of my life for my true purpose, I don't think I have found it. It would be the height of hypocrisy for me to speculate as to someone else's purpose when I don't even know my own.

I realized that I must accept and believe that God put those others, so different than me, on this earth, also with a purpose and that I must respect that.