It has long been my prayer to see people through Christ's eyes. That is such an all-encompassing request. There is really no way to measure my success. What I find, when I see people through His eyes, is that I see pain behind the anger, I see hurt behind the attack, and I see the need for grace more than ever before.
I'm sure that some will find this candid example offensive - but each time a person of color walks down the sidewalk in front of my house, I have a decision to make. I decide whether to think uncharitable thoughts or to consider their plight. As a whole, I find the black race an enigma. I never considered myself racist. But I now see how we treat one another differently, not because of color, but because of behavior. It is less a color difference, and more a culture difference. I can, by recognizing this, now consider with compassion why a mother with four young children is walking down the street in the heat of the summer. Rather than seeing her as a victim of poverty, or as a nuisance when they loudly make their way down the sidewalk, I see her as a fellow traveler with a destiny as great as my own.
It makes me want to be a public speaker, a preacher or evangelist. I want to have a voice to announce to these people that there is hope, there is something greater to live for. I would love to rush out there and ask her if she knows Jesus. Fear keeps me from actually doing that - although I have had the temerity to ask one of the them not to walk on my lawn! Such a hypocrite.
Yes, I tend to judge myself harshly as well. It serves to demonstrate in a very real way that God's ways are not our ways. Where I would give judgement, He gives forgiveness. Where I would give criticism, He gives comfort. Where I would give advice, He gives grace. I am learning that I can only help someone when I am subject to and a student of the same mercy and grace they require. To walk a mile...
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