A few days ago, we were visiting some friends who served us muffins for breakfast. They had taken a stick of butter out of the refrigerator and put it in the microwave oven to soften. I don't know why, but butter always gets soft in the middle of the stick rather than on the ends when it is warmed in a microwave oven. Melody, my wife, took butter out of the soft middle for her muffin. Later, as we were sitting around talking, she looked at the stick of butter and commented, "I messed up your butter." The butter was no longer the perfect long stick, but had a distinct dip in the middle.

It was only a small thing, but it got me to thinking about how often we mess up things. Even more importantly, it reminded of how frequently we mess up other people's lives without giving a second thought to the impact our behaviors have on them.

If you were to take a hard look at your life, what would you see? Whose "butter" would you have messed up? And if you have messed up someone's life, does it really bother you?

Jesus said, "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." (John 13:34-35)

What does the world see when it looks at you?
What does the world see when it looks at you? Does it see something different in the way you treat others? Do they see someone who demonstrates his or her love towards others? Or do they see just another someone who messes up other people's "butter"?

May our God give us a heart which is touched by him and in turn reaches to touch others.