This is the story of an Oscar winning actress and a waitress with attitude. The actress is Diane Keaton, the waitress is a woman from the inner city of Los Angeles who has had a rough life, served time in prison, and now has a job thanks to Homeboy Industries, the result of the work and ministry of Father Greg Boyle, who founded it, and was the teller of this story, and the lunch companion of Ms. Keaton on that day.

As the story goes, the waitress, while taking their order kept looking at Diane Keaton and finally blurted out, “Haven’t I seen you somewhere before?”

Diane, trying to be humble and kind and not embarrass the waitress returned with something like having a familiar face. To which the waitress exclaimed. “I know where I know you from: we were locked up together!”

We heard this story over the weekend at a fundraiser for Women of Vision where Father Greg (as they call him) gave a talk that touched a chord with everyone there, and especially with our worldview here at The Catch.

I took copious notes.

I love this story for the way it puts the rich and famous actress and the formerly incarcerated waitress on the same plane, and I believe it can even be a useful story for us all to remember.

According to scripture, we have been locked up together with all of humanity in sin, so that God might bestow His righteousness on us by faith in His son Jesus Christ. This can be a starting point with everyone you meet.

I suggest you keep it at all times in the back of your mind and apply it secretly to everyone you meet, starting today. It’s a truth you know about everyone and a point of reference by which you can identify. Whoever that is you are talking to, be it a homeless person on the street or your boss at work, you can be assured of this one thing: you were locked up together. You have at least that in common. What a great place to begin!

Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. (Romans 5:18)