My husband and I are traveling this weekend, and I’m sitting near one of the fourteen different Starbucks locations at O’Hare International Airport as I write this. (Fourteen?!) I am of the strong opinion that there is no better opportunity for people-watching than there is at an airport, especially at an airport that is so large and so busy. One of my favorite games to play during a long layover is to think up background stories for the people I come across. If you’ve never tried this, please use your next people-watching opportunity to get creative and make up silly stories for people. Many moments of hilarity will be sure to follow.
Each of the tens of thousands of people moving through this airport today has a real story; they are all coming from somewhere, and going to a new place. None of their stories are the same as the person next to them. Some may be traveling for work, others for pleasure. Some are excited to be going, others are indifferent (or maybe even frustrated or sad). Many of the people passing by our little table here are heading home. Still, others are leaving home, maybe for an extended period of time. Each of us is different.
Every single one of us in this airport has one thing in common, though. We were each created in the image of God.
So God created man
in his own image;
he created him in the image of God;
he created them male and female.
Genesis 1:27 CSB
Our ancestry dates back to the Garden of Eden, and all of us are here on this earth to bring glory to the Creator. The implications of this are massive.
None of the people I’ve seen today look the same as any other, and yet every single one of us bears the image of God. Let that sink in for a moment. God is so vast, so beautiful, that every single one of us here on this planet reflects His glory. In fact, He knit each of these beautiful humans together in their mothers’ wombs.
For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. Psalm 139:13 CSB
He knows the number of hairs on each of the heads of each of the people around me. Each destination, each purpose for traveling, and even each specific seat number we’ll be sitting in (32F, gotta love a window seat!) is something He has planned in advance. Don’t even get me started on the fact that He created the genius that exists inside of the humans that managed to make giant hunks of metal fly thousands of miles through the air at hundreds of miles per hour. Or the creative problem-solving that went into forming the security protocols. Even the layout of the buildings and runways reflect tons of time and energy to come up with an efficient process for moving all of the people.
Because of the restorative work that Jesus did through His death on the cross, and through His resurrection three days later, all of the nations and languages and people groups that are represented here in this airport today, will be represented in eternity worshiping the Lord. The fact that this is even a possibility is more incredible than any of the other things I’ve mentioned so far. We cannot ever comprehend the depth of the glory of God, of His delight in His creation, and of the intimate and personal care that He has for each of us — which are, in fact, the driving forces behind our salvation. This Creator, the One who knows each and every one of us by name, is worthy of our love and praise.
They sang the song of God’s servant Moses and the song of the Lamb:
Great and awe-inspiring are your works, Lord God, the Almighty; just and true are your ways, King of the nations. Lord, who will not fear and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All the nations will come and worship before you because your righteous acts have been revealed.
Revelation 15:3-4 CSB