Yesterday at church we were discussing judgment, identity and relationships. This morning I spent some time meditating on these verses from James' letter - James 2:1-5 NIV:
[1] "My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. [2] Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. [3] If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” [4] have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? [5] Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?"
For me, these verses are a great reminder that I need to see as the Lord sees, and not as the world sees. We tend to associate a persons significance by their position in society, but that is not true in the Body of Christ. We also cannot judge based on one's gifting, or even calling, although those at least are somewhat related to Body of Christ. In fact we shouldn't really judge at all, but rather extend mercy and compassion, the hand of fellowship and welcome.
In Jesus eyes, we are all equally significant, seemingly least to the greatest. He personally paid for each of us with His Body and Blood, so how can we ever look at someone and think we are better than them, for it is mercy that has established us in the Body of Christ, not our acts or our accomplishments. Equally, we can never judge someone outside the Body of Christ, because the Lord died for them as well, and encouraged us to leave the 99 sheep to find the one that is lost (Matt 18:2-3).
Lord, help me to extend mercy and compassion to everyone and leave the judging to You. Help me to look for and see the significance of everyone I meet, everyone You died to save.
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