Thought For Today: “Don’t Judge People’s Past”

Judging people based upon their past is to judge that God’s grace isn’t sufficient for their present.

Consider the story of the woman who washed Jesus’s feet with her tears, drying them with her hair, kissed and then anointed them with oil. Simon the Pharisee saw only her past and was judging her accordingly.

He said, “This man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.” (Luke 7:39b)

Jesus, however told Simon to open his eyes. Jesus said, “Do you see this woman?” (Luke 7:44)

Jesus was seeing her as God sees her, a repentant sinner in need of God’s amazing grace.

How easily it is to fall into Simon’s mistake and judge people based upon their past instead of God’s grace to transform them. We of all people should believe in God’s grace to forgive the past and make a person a brand-new creation.

When we allow the past to blind us to God’s transformative power, then it reveals that we really don’t think very highly of God’s wonderful, marvelous, amazing, and saving grace.