Scripture: John 7:24
Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”
Thought for the Day: The other night, I pulled from the refrigerator the last of our grapefruits. It had been in there for a while, so I was concerned that it would not be good. I cut it in half, putting one half back in the refrigerator for Donna, and the other half in a bowl. I got myself a grapefruit spoon and took the first bite. It was spectacular. I love a good grapefruit. As I was getting down to the last bite, I dug a little around the edges, scraping the last bits of pulp. That last dig produced a stream of grapefruit juice that shot from the rind directly into my eye. I was not wearing my glasses, and let me tell you, fresh pink grapefruit juice in the eye is extraordinarily painful. I had a few choice words for the grapefruit carcass that sat before me as if somehow it might feel bad for the pain it had caused. As time past and the pain decreased, I had a strange takeaway from the experience. How often do we allow the very last thing that happened to skew our opinion of a much larger experience? That shot of pain in the eye was not the grapefruit’s fault, and more importantly, it should not take away from the fact that the grapefruit itself was quite delicious. Do we do the same thing with people, allowing a single moment to distort the many wonderful things? How often have we allow a few bad words to define an entire relationship? Right judgement should always take the broader perspective, attempting to view all people and circumstances from God’s vantage point.
Prayer: Give me good and right judgement, O Lord of all humanity, for there is something beautiful and worthy to be found within each person. This is my prayer and request. Amen.
SUNDAY’S WORSHIP
