Hammer on Anvil '

"From now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view" (2 Corinthians 5:16).

This gem of a verse popped out at me in a simple reading last week. As often happens when the Holy Spirit illuminates my vision, it was as if I had never read this verse before or stopped to consider what it means.

So what DOES it mean, you might be asking? Well, the context is that Paul is telling the Corinthians that Christ died for all, "so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf." He mentions how he formally knew Jesus "according to the flesh," and how differently he knows Him now!

Paul talks a great deal in his writings about how "there is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female" (Galatians 3:28). He also told the Galatians it didn't matter if they were circumcised or uncircumcised.

All of these Scriptures point to one thing: Paul had come to realize that outward appearances and practices didn't matter. In 1 Timothy 1:15, he is astounded to declare, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst." When Paul came to grips with the fact that the blood of Jesus availed even for HIM, he knew he must no longer despair of anyone else.

I'm sure many people thought Paul was beyond God's reach. I mean, he executed Christians -- and he did it zealously! Yet God chose to reveal himself to Paul, who to this day is considered the greatest missionary who ever walked the face of the earth.

So the message today is this: We must not regard people from a human point of view. Some translations say we must not regard anyone "according to the flesh." The note in my study Bible says that means we shouldn't judge people "according to worldly standards and values that derive from living as if one's present physical life is all that matters."

Brothers and sisters, we must ask God to open our eyes to see others as HE sees them. Don't judge them according to what your limited sight can behold, and despair of them as forever lost. Make an effort to become part of their lives and learn their story. Your coworker who recently confessed to you that she had an abortion needs someone to shine the light of Jesus into her life. Your neighbor who is a single mom and moonlights as a stripper to put food on the table needs you to LOVE her, not judge her. Take a hot meal to her and her children, and sit down and get to know her. The guy at church who is addicted to pornography needs a man of God to walk beside him and help him to get free.

Let us endeavor to walk by FAITH, and not by sight. The world will be a much kinder place, and people will take note that the love of Jesus is alive in you!