Do you know who I am? I love the story of the usher who was helping a lady find a seat in church. He told her that the preacher was not a very good preacher. "Do you know who I am?" she asked. "No," the usher answered. "I am the Pastor's mom." "Do you know who I am?" asked the usher." "No," answered the mom. "Good," said the usher as he hurried away.
When the Roman soldiers prepared to beat Paul he asked them if it was legal to beat a Roman citizen. To that point, they did know that Paul was born a citizen of Rome. Even putting shackles on him was against the law. They changed course and did not beat Paul.
We never know whom we are dealing with in life. But we know that everyone is created in God's image. God wants everyone to come to repentance. Each person we meet may become a child of God. This should give us pause as we talk to them and about them.
Paul would write to the church in Philippi, "Our citizenship is in heaven." One church chose the motto: "where everyone is someone and Jesus Christ is Lord." Since Jesus Christ is Lord, we should treat others well. We will all answer to a higher Authority than the government.
