Philippians 4:8-9
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
My paternal grandfather had a sister who lived on a small farm outside of our community. She was unkempt and disheveled…and frankly, she scared us kids just a little. Couple that with the fact that some of the adults did not speak very kindly of her, and we were quite convinced that she was not someone we wanted to be around for very long. When we grew up, my Mam-ma Polly began to talk about this aunt in a manner that presented a totally different story.
She told of a woman who lost a child in a tragic accident…and was never the same afterward. She described a relationship between my aunt and her husband that was troubled at best. The uncle blamed my aunt for their child’s death. And according to my grandmother…he never missed an opportunity to berate her for it or to tear down her resolve. So my aunt became bitter, downtrodden, and even at times - dishonest…all in an effort to cope and survive. My heart breaks to think of how tormented her life must have been.
It’s a sad story…but there is something of a happy result. A grand-daughter of this aunt came to visit Mam-ma as she lay dying. She mentioned something about her grandmother in the context of how fortunate I was to have such a wonderful woman as MY grandmother – and how horrible her own grandmother had been. I said to her, “I don’t think that is the case. You should really talk to my sister, because Mam-ma Polly shared more with her than with me. But I’m quite sure she painted a very different picture of your grandmother and her life.” At Mam-ma Polly's funeral visitation, my cousin asked my sister - and another cousin who was old enough to remember some facts - about all of this. And with tears in her eyes, she came to me to say “Thank you”.
My cousin had learned that things were not as she had always been told. It was bittersweet news, but she was thrilled to learn that her grandmother had aspects to her life that were true, honorable, right and pure…lovely and admirable. She now sees her grandmother with a new “lens”, so to speak. She realizes that like most of us, there can be an ugly side to our story…but God sees beyond this. He can forgive us and redeem us from our sordid past…our life of sin…and He can bring the things that are excellent and worthy of His praise to the forefront. And our job as Christian disciples is to emulate Jesus and look for the good in others… to focus on these things rather than the person’s shortcomings.
I am not meaning to excuse another person’s sins or past mistakes. But this is not for us to judge. We are to look at each and every person and see their heart…and the potential that lies therein for honor, truth, purity and goodness. We are to see others as God sees them…with all the capacity in the world to be filled with decency, righteousness, and virtue…with every possibility to give honorable testament to the grace, mercy, love, forgiveness, power and peace we receive through salvation in Jesus Christ.
One of the marks of a mature Christian who is growing in his/her faith is the ability to look at another person and see that person's heart…and their potential in Christ Jesus. When we come to a place where we can ache for the torment that others may endure because of past sins - and ask God to offer them forgiveness, healing, comfort and peace - we have reached a new level in our own faithfulness.
Are you there yet? Do you look past the sinfulness of others and see their heart? Do you care deeply about sharing the hope and promises of God with others and encouraging them toward a life that is honest, right, pure, lovely, admirable…and leaves their old, sinful life in the dust?
Are you willing to reach out to others and help them to “forget the past and look forward to what lies ahead…to press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us”*? Will this be the day that you turn the corner in your own faith walk and begin to operate in the compassion of Christ? Shouldn’t it?
©2014 Debbie Robus
*Philippians 3:14 (NLT)
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