Back to school time means new clothes, school supplies, (oh how I love sharpened pencils and the smell of fresh crayons), new friends and teachers. It can be exciting....but what if we took the newness a little bit deeper? How about we start this year with a fresh perspective? How about taking a look through God's filter and not our own? How about when that kid in class who ruins it for everyone else is acting out again..maybe no one has loved him right and we might try to be his friend instead of talking about him in the lunchroom. Or that co-worker who bugs you? Maybe her marriage is on the rocks and by the time she comes to work she is a hot mess snapping at the littlest things. How about you find ways to serve her no matter the response. Or that boss who micromanages your every move or doesn't respect you? Maybe he has never heard the good news, he is lost and has no hope. How about we pray for him instead of dwell on all his negatives. Or the guy on the corner smoking? Yes, cigarettes are gross but maybe he just got over a 15 year heroin addiction and this helps the cravings.
The point is we don't know the whole story. We haven't walked in everyone's shoes. We don't know what they are dealing with or if they are just hanging on by a string. Let's commit to taking a "new look" at people, a fresh perspective. Maybe God's outlook. It is so easy to get angry, defensive, pass judgment, or put down. It is much harder to choose love. Love that surpasses all understanding not because that person deserves it but because the God you serve gave you the ultimate example..on the cross.
"When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Matthew 9:11-13
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