Beneath the Surface

This means that our knowledge of men can no longer be based on their outward lives

2 Corinthians 5:16

There are no ordinary people. ~ CS Lewis

These statements seem quite inclusive, yet in chapter 6 of second Corinthians, Paul tells us to avoid unbelievers, to separate from them, and I have wondered about that statement. 

And the only thing I can really reconcile in my mind is that I have a very limited understanding of what or who is an unbeliever. 

Case in point: I am certain that I read a quote from noted atheist Bill Maher in which he said "I believe in love". Paul says God is Love. Does that make Maher a believer.

I don't know. But what I do know is this: my knowledge of others can no longer be based on their outward lives, I must be willing to see beneath the veneer of the present, and see those around me as God sees them: His children: prodigal and all. 

Amen.