There are lots of antique stores in New England. What I love about them is so many of the items that are for sale were everyday items when I was a child. Some of them like dishes that used to come in laundry detergent boxes are fairly fragile. And I am amazed they still remain. Obviously they have been handled with care. They are much like some people that need to be handled with care because they are fragile. They are sensitive souls easily hurt and/or damaged.
Jesus was gentle with sensitive souls. Luke tells of a woman desperate for help but too shy to talk to Jesus. Reaching out from the crowd she only wanted to touch the hem of His coat. Amidst the press of the throng He stopped to reassure her of His care. While walking by the Pool of Bethesda He knelt by a man who had no one to care for him. Jesus cared and that man walked for the first time in 38 years.
There are times when I am tempted to be (what I think) clever and capitalize on the error of a student. Then I realize that something I think is funny can scar another. Teachers rarely remember what they say to a particular student but students do remember what teachers say to them. Paul wrote in Ephesians 4, “Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.”
Most people are stamped “Fragile – Handle with Care.” We just don’t notice. If we do handle them with care, they might last long enough to end up unchipped in an antique store. That’s a really good thing.