Lately, the Lord keeps showing me this passage. I've been working so hard lately, and it's tempting to feel like a machine when you are not being rewarded for your efforts (at least in the immediate time). God has reminded me that the great I AM lives inside of me. At first when I saw this passage, I was tempted to think perhaps I was not honoring God in an area of my life. Don't you love how Satan accuses us when we are in intimate fellowship with the Lord? God corrected me and told me that the I AM that is inside of me does not receive honor for the work I've been doing by humans. Then the light bulb went off! As Christians, because God "I AM" lives inside of us, when someone does not honor us, they are dishonoring God. In other words, when someone causes us pain, they cause God pain. They are marring the image of God and the Holy Spirit that is inside of us. It reminds me of this verse:

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" ~Matthew 25:40

Now I understand what this passage means! To take it one step further, I was recently able to help a married couple who are good friends of mine by letting them stay at my place which was very close to the hospital. The wife was in labor expecting her first and they lived 25 minutes away. We didn't get much sleep that night, but during the part that I did, the Lord woke me up and said, "You are my blessing." It dawned one me later that He was saying, "I am in labor and you helped me by letting me stay in your home by the hospital. You are my blessing." I hope this helps you to understand why it is so important to honor God by honoring others. When we dishonor other people we are really dishonoring the Lord!

On another note... I want to show this series together:

He calls me Beloved

He calls me Friend

May the Lord bless and keep you!