Last week I heard one of the most memorable and Jesus-like quotations I've heard in years.

I was sitting in the Murray State student center. My friend, Becky Lile, and I were on day two of a sixteen hour editing marathon to finalize my latest book, Letters From a Martyred Christian.

We were sitting in a lounge about 10 feet from the glass elevator when Becky pointed over my shoulder.

"Look," she said.

Turning around, I saw what had to be twenty young kids (ages 3-6 I think) crammed into the elevator with three adults. The kids were pressing toward the glass and smiling while they looked around at the massive open design of the building. Many of them were waving at us. Essentially, just over my shoulder, there were two dozen heads and a lot of them were looking at me. It made me laugh.

After that group ascended, another like it took the stairwell about thirty feet away, followed by another on the elevator. Each group tried to get our attention with a lot of waving and smiles and a few hellos.

Becky was waving at all of them and saying "hi" back.

That's when she said something I'll most likely never forget.

She said, "Whenever I see a group of kids like that, I try and find the one kid that probably doesn't get a whole lot of waves and smiles. I pick them out, try and make eye contact, and say hello. There's always one or two like that."

Becky's a school teacher, and her heart for kids shined through.

And it reminded me of Jesus.

What if all of us held a similar view and carried it into our interactions, not just with kids, but with everyone.

The guy sitting in front of me at church has dandruff all over his shoulders.

The lady at the nursing home smells like urine.

One of our coworkers is just plain awkward.

What if we took time to "notice" those folks like we tend to notice people who are charismatic, smart, or beautiful.

The more I've thought about it, the more I'm impressed that was a leading tenant in the life of Jesus. He noticed the unnoticeable. His friends were outcasts and losers - poor, smelly, and uncultured. And it was the "cool kids" that seemed to always take issue with His teaching.

Maybe a huge part of being Christian could be summed up in, "Who will you notice that others don't." Or, more to the point, who will you love that's hard to love?

Ultimately, Jesus took the place of the outcast. He covered himself in "dandruff" and "urine." He didn't just embrace the dredges of society, He took their place.

Thanks, Becky, for re-emphasizing that concept. I'll think about it the rest of my life.