So, I ran across this quote on Pinterest on yesterday. I've been thinking and thinking about it. I've gone back and forth in regards to its validity. We all know girls who were labeled this way. Sadly, many of them have been unable to escape their pasts. It seems that it doesn't matter how they've changed or what they accomplished. Many of them have forever been labeled by things they did in high school or college. It seems as if its the nature of people to judge others when they are or were at their worst.
I've done it. You've probably done it. Thank God that we serve a Father who loves us far too much to leave us where we are. We all have pasts. All of us. Some people's pasts may be a title dirtier than others....but it's dirty nonetheless.
The people God chose for His greatest works had dirty pasts. Abraham. David the murdering adulterer. Paul hunted Christians. The woman at the well told all about Jesus and many were saved as a result. The greater the problem, the greater the promise.The list goes on and on.
Let us start with Mary...as in the Virgin Mary. Of course, her past wasn't marred with actual sexual immorality. But people in her village assumed that it was. After all, she got pregnant while she was engaged to another man. If this was to happen today, can you imagine the blogs posts and magazine articles? She was judged by assumptions, yet she went on to give birth to the Lamb.
Mary Magdalene is often called a woman who was a prostitute. I don't believe there is anything that supports that theory. But what we do know is that she was cleaned of seven demons. Jesus met her where she was and changed her life. Totally. She was the woman who anointed his feet with expensive oil. She also stood by Jesus until the end. She was present at the crucifixion, when most of the disciples where nowhere to be found. She was also the first person that the resurrects Jesus appeared to. How's that for forgiveness?
The woman at the well was a woman that changed men like Dwight Howard changes basketball teams--often. And yet, Jesus didn't judge her. He met her where she was and changed her.
So, no...this quote should not be true. Even if people bring up your past (and the enemy will) just remember that God doesn't see your past....He sees the blood of Jesus when He looks at you. Let's love and not judge. Encourage and not condemn.
Have you prayed for them as much as you've talked about them? I know I haven't and I know I need to do better.
What if we were constantly judged based on past moral failures?
I've done it. You've probably done it. Thank God that we serve a Father who loves us far too much to leave us where we are. We all have pasts. All of us. Some people's pasts may be a title dirtier than others....but it's dirty nonetheless.
The people God chose for His greatest works had dirty pasts. Abraham. David the murdering adulterer. Paul hunted Christians. The woman at the well told all about Jesus and many were saved as a result. The greater the problem, the greater the promise.The list goes on and on.
Let us start with Mary...as in the Virgin Mary. Of course, her past wasn't marred with actual sexual immorality. But people in her village assumed that it was. After all, she got pregnant while she was engaged to another man. If this was to happen today, can you imagine the blogs posts and magazine articles? She was judged by assumptions, yet she went on to give birth to the Lamb.
Mary Magdalene is often called a woman who was a prostitute. I don't believe there is anything that supports that theory. But what we do know is that she was cleaned of seven demons. Jesus met her where she was and changed her life. Totally. She was the woman who anointed his feet with expensive oil. She also stood by Jesus until the end. She was present at the crucifixion, when most of the disciples where nowhere to be found. She was also the first person that the resurrects Jesus appeared to. How's that for forgiveness?
The woman at the well was a woman that changed men like Dwight Howard changes basketball teams--often. And yet, Jesus didn't judge her. He met her where she was and changed her.
So, no...this quote should not be true. Even if people bring up your past (and the enemy will) just remember that God doesn't see your past....He sees the blood of Jesus when He looks at you. Let's love and not judge. Encourage and not condemn.
Have you prayed for them as much as you've talked about them? I know I haven't and I know I need to do better.
What if we were constantly judged based on past moral failures?
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