What Do You See?

Jesus commands his followers, “Love one another as I have loved you.” But that beautiful command immediately raises a difficult question: who exactly is the “one another”? Is it family and friends? People who agree with us? People who share our values? And what about those whose beliefs, choices, or lifestyles trouble us?

Genesis 18 offers a surprising answer. Before Jesus ever spoke those words, Abraham was already living them. When three strangers appeared near his tent, Abraham did not investigate their background, beliefs, or worthiness. Instead, Scripture tells us that “the Lord appeared” to Abraham. Abraham looked at three strangers and saw something sacred. Not because being strangers ceased to be true, but because it was not the most important thing he saw.

The difference remained. The strangers never stopped being strangers. But Abraham saw them through the lens of Genesis itself: every person bears God’s image and lives by God’s breath. Because he saw something deeper, he ran to them, welcomed them, bowed before them, and served them.

Our challenge today is not learning how to agree with everyone. It is learning how to see God in everyone. Scripture does not ask us to pretend differences, convictions, or concerns do not exist. It simply refuses to let those things become the deepest truth about the person standing before us.

Loving someone does not mean approving of everything they do. Abraham was not asked to approve of strangers; he was invited to recognize God’s image in them. Centuries later, Jesus would kneel before his disciples, wash their feet, and say, “Love one another as I have loved you.”

When Abraham saw God before he saw difference, the world became larger, not smaller. Strangers became neighbors. Hospitality became possible. Blessing entered his home, and an ordinary afternoon became an encounter with God.

Perhaps the question is not simply, “Who is the one another we must love?” Perhaps the deeper question is, “Where is God waiting to be found?” And if Abraham is right, the answer may be found in the very people standing before us.

Key Scriptures

Genesis 18:1-5

Genesis 1:26-27

John 13:14-15

Key Takeaways

See God’s Image Before You See Difference

Genesis trains us to recognize that every person is already marked by the dignity of being made by God. Differences remain real, but they do not get to define the whole person.

Sight Shapes the Way We Act

What we believe we see in another person will guide our response. If we see threat, we become guarded; if we see God’s image, we are more likely to show kindness, patience, and service.

Love Is Not the Same as Approval

Christian love can hold convictions without becoming cold or punitive. We can disagree honestly and still extend dignity, care, and neighborly concern.

Hospitality Makes Room for Blessing

Abraham’s welcome of the strangers is more than good manners. It becomes a way of participating in God’s work, where ordinary hospitality opens space for encounter and grace.

Questions for Reflection

Where do you most often find yourself seeing difference before you see God’s image?

How does Abraham’s response challenge the way you think about strangers and neighbors?

Where have you assumed that love requires agreement, when Scripture calls us to something deeper?

Who in your life is hardest for you to see clearly right now, and why?

What would it look like this week to respond to someone first as a person made in God’s image?