Judgments

Everyone hates to be judged. It's so simplistic to make a judgment about someone without knowing who they really are. But we all do it, to some degree. We look at how someone dresses and decide that maybe they have money or not very much. We listen to how they speak, or look at how they type and assume that we know how long they went to school. People that have run down houses with old cars laying around probably have a drinking problem and are on welfare.

We can decide that we aren't going to do that anymore and, for the most part, succeed. Until we're faced with a homeless person. "Get a job" you might think to yourself, not really wanting to find out anything more about this person. Or, you might want to help, and give him some change, sit and talk with him awhile and find out his story and how hopeless he feels and maybe help him to find hope.

Okay, you can see that the homeless guy might not be who you thought, but what about a murderer, or a pedophile, or a wife abuser, or a rapist. Do they deserve our mercy? Do they deserve God's mercy? These people have a story as well. They were once little babies, little children. Someone might have loved and wanted them once or maybe they were never loved or wanted. Along the way something went terribly wrong and eventually they became a person that would be described as evil.

We all make mistakes, we all sin, we all have ventured down the wrong path. I believe that the greatest pain comes when we look at ourselves in all its filthiness. I believe that those with the greatest sins have the most difficulty facing them and even after being forgiven, carry the pain of what they did. I hope, that if they did ask Jesus for forgiveness, that in heaven they would feel that pain no more. There is no fear of hell if you feel the pain of it right now. Perhaps that is what hell is...you see your sin for what it is, when it's too late to do anything about it.

I read the headlines, about these terrible people and I can't help but see their pain. Instead of anger, I only feel sadness. I know there's so much more underneath that perhaps only Jesus can see. I pray for their salvation.