A rabbi once asked his students how they could tell when night had ended and day was returning. 

One of the students asked, “Is it when you can see an animal in the distance, and can tell whether it’s a sheep or a dog?” 

“No,” answered the rabbi. 

Another student asked, “Is it when you can look at a tree in the distance, and can tell whether it’s a fig tree or a peach tree?” 

“No,” answered the rabbi. 

The students gave up.

The rabbi said that you can tell when day is returning, “When you look on the face of another human being, and see that they are a fellow child of God.  Because if you cannot do that, then no matter what time it is, it is still night.”[1]

May we always see fellow human beings as beloved children of God.

Love,
Pastor Lauren

[1] Story adapted from Margaret Silf, Ed. “Signs of Daybreak,” in One Hundred Wisdom Stories from Around the World, pg. 84.

Photo by Pietro De Grandi on Unsplash

Thursday Thoughts 1/30/25