Beyond the Cover

A tattered old book lies untouched on the bookshelf and collects dust on its cover. No one has bothered to look at the treasure within the confines of the front and back cover. What could be the reason for such negligence? Whether we like it or not, we tend to judge a book by its cover. The old cliche that we caution against finds its way creeping into our daily lives despite our vigilance. We tend to look at a book and base our perceptions upon only a first glance rather than exploration.

While we could argue the way we judge a piece of literature, we may also argue that we judge people by the same standards that we judge a simple story. We tend to base our knowledge of people on their appearance, stature, and outward characteristics.

While we can gain some information regarding people's attributes, we only get a partial picture into people's lives. Sometimes we feel betrayed when we find out what's beyond the cover, and yet other times we miss the full potential beneath the facade.

I know a young man who has grown up surrounded by individuals who looked at the cover rather than the pages beneath. He has had to fight back a pretense of belief cultivated by the lack of investigation on a deeper level.

When this man achieved something that no one thought possible--based on his appearances--people were amazed. This young man has been rejected many times based solely upon the first perceptions of what he could do.

Sadly, the majority of this young man's rejection, ignorance, and dare I say judgment, happened inside the church rather than outside. The people who were supposed to find the potential within this man almost missed it completely.

This young man's experience in church has been one of the cornerstones of his life, but it has also been one of his greatest trials. This young man, of course, is I.

I will treasure each day I spend in church; not because of the good times I've had, but because of the hardships, the trials I've overcome, and the preconceptions that people who choose not to look beyond the surface have thrust upon me. This has not only compelled me to work hard to achieve my goals and to rely on God for peace, but it has also prepared me to better minister to people in my life.

For those who don't know me, you might be wondering what could be so wrong with me that has hindered people from looking past the outward cover. The answer: Nothing. But a physical condition that I was diagnosed with at birth.

I have a condition called Cerebral Palsy (CP) which affects my fine motor skills, tightening my muscles due to the lack of oxygen during birth. Many people, including Christians, cannot see past my this, and therefore cannot see what the Lord has given me to offer.

I'm not writing this to draw attention to myself, but because I believe that we are called to do something in our churches and in our own environments: To search the heart and mind of the individuals around us to lock into their full potentials.

Think about it. In a few short months some of us will be graduating. Some of us will be working with the next generation. We are the next educators, and as such are called into a place in which we need to find each individual's full potential. This means we need to look beyond the exteriors and into the very hearts of others.

Having CP has taught me one thing about the people around me. It has taught me to live every day in an effort to encourage people, and to look for the gifts that God has given them, helping them to reach their full potential.

I believe one of my jobs as a youth pastor is to find diamonds and carefully wipe away the dust so that they could shine for the Glory of God. We never know what types of gifts they have, what sort of person they are, or what God might want to do through them, if we only look at the surface. We have to go deeper. Jesus was the perfect example of this.

Philippians 2:5-11 says: "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." When Jesus hung on the Cross, his cover was torn, ripped, written on, etc.

If someone saw his cover in the library, they would never seek to pick him up. If they did not pick him up, however, they would have never read "King of Kings" or "Lord of Lords," written in the pages of his book. They would have missed the foundational cornerstone of who Jesus is.

My challenge to you is this: interact with everyone, and don't pass judgment on them based on your first glance. You never know how they could be used, even in your own life. Take a chance; look beyond the cover.