The more I grow and live, the more I have come to see that words and rhetoric tend to really be just that. As I read my devotional for yesterday, I was struck by something the author said. She was describing a funeral reception where she didn’t really know anyone. “That day, except for a few family members who were surrounded by people, strangers faced me in every corner.My choice was between strangers who looked like me, and those who didn’t. It’s not that they really looked like me, they just seemed like me on the surface - traditionally dressed, about my age, and talking about things I might talk about. Then there was the group outside on the back patio. I knew who they were, and they weren’t like me. Their lifestyle choices were far from mine. Plate in hand, I stood beside the buffet table weighing my options. And I asked myself, ‘Where would Jesus sit?’ Would He choose to sit inside with those who looked like Him? Or would He be outside with those whose choices revealed a heart far from God? The answer was obvious; I headed for the back door.”
As I read this, I thought, 'how in the world does she know just by looking at people that their hearts are far from God?' I mean, I have some discernment, but I'm typically not able to say just by looking at someone whether they have a better relationship with God than I do. She said that she knew who they knew and that they weren't like her. Their lifestyle choices were different from hers. But I'm still wondering, since most of the people were strangers - meaning she didn't actually know them - how she knew their hearts so intimately....
Or was it that she was making an assumption based on appearances? Tattoos, piercings, clothing, and relationship partners do not make someone any more or less in relationship with God than a suit, a church hat, a dress, a briefcase, or a Bible. Now, I will say that uncomfortable social situations are not my favorite, and I too prefer to find people who may be more similar to me, so I appreciate that God sometimes calls us out of our comfort zones to meet different kinds of people. In such instances, you can learn about and even find new parts of yourself that you were unaware of. But I daresay that we should ever judge a person's relationship with God or whether they are "sinners" just based on what we think we know or see.
In a related mode, the article for which I posted the link below speaks to judgments based on perceptions but not knowledge of the heart. I don't care what you know or what you think you know, God is the only one who can make rulings on the hearts of people. Maybe we should follow the example of the people in this article and bridge gaps or be obedient in stepping outside of our comforts, but we should stay away from making calls about people based on our limited knowledge or sight.
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