Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Killing Him Softly



" My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" -- [Mark 14: 1-15:47].


Each year during Holy Week, I get depressed over the fact that Jesus was murdered. I ask myself if the Crucifixion could happen again?

Other Christians tell me that I am not personally responsible for Jesus' Crucifixion.

But I believe that we are all responsible. Jesus, God's only Son, died as a sacrifice for our sins. We ALL fall short of the Glory of God.

But there is more to this than that simple, central tenet of Christianity.

In Matthew 25: 31-46, Jesus tells His disciples, "Depart from me, you who are cursed. . For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.  . I tell you the Truth, whatever you did NOT do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me."

Walking past a stranger who is hungry, cold, thirsty, or sick is doing these things TO Jesus. Complacency or outright selfishness have the effect of killing Jesus.

Or, how about the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane? The disciples are holy and devoted followers. But when Jesus asks them to keep watch for just one hour, the disciples fall asleep. "Falling asleep", not paying attention to the call of Jesus,  has the effect of killing Jesus.

Then comes Judas Iscariot, who was the disciple entrusted with their money bag. Judas agrees to signal who Jesus is, to the arresting soldiers, in exchange for 30 silver coins. Greed, putting money over matters of the soul, certainly over Love, has the effect of killing Jesus.

"Many testified falsely against Jesus" -[Mark 14: 56].  Telling lies about Jesus and about who He is -- uttering blasphemy-- has the effect of killing Jesus.

Then, Peter denied Jesus three times - 1) "I don't know or understand what you are talking about." 2) A girl saying, ' This fellow is one of them', and "again [Peter] denied it. 3) "[Peter] swore to them, ' I don't know this man you're talking about.' "  Denying Jesus has the effect of killing Jesus.

"The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do what he usually did. " -[Mark 15: 8].  Pilate "wanted to satisfy the crowd [and] released Barrabas, [in exchange for Jesus.] He had Jesus flogged and handed Him over to be crucified. -[Mark 15: 15].  Going along with the crowd, yielding to popular pressure, passively doing things the "usual way" without regard to Justice, has the effect of killing Jesus.

"They crucified Him. Dividing up His clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get."  -[Mark 15: 24].  Coming to Jesus, only to see what can be selfishly gained from HIM has the effect of killing Jesus.

"They crucified two robbers with Him. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, saying, 'Come down from the cross and save yourself!'  . . The chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked Him among themselves: 'He saved others, but He can't save himself!' " -[Mark 15: 29-31]. Mocking Jesus, manipulating Gospel truth to substantiate one's disbelief, have the effect of killing Jesus.

The Notes to my Study Bible say, "Who was guilty of Jesus' death? In reality, everyone was at fault. The disciples deserted Him in terror. Peter denied that he ever knew Jesus. Judas betrayed Him. The crowds who had followed Him stood by and did nothing. Pilate tried to blame the crowds. The religious leaders actively promoted Jesus' death. The Roman soldiers tortured Him."

Who is responsible for Jesus' death today? Anyone who mocks Him, denies Him, falls asleep despite His call, anyone who follows the mob mentality of the crowd.  Anyone who becomes complacent to the face of Jesus who resides within the lonely, the marginalized, the hungry, the poor or the desperate. Anyone who puts greed and personal gain over the preciousness of the Soul. Anyone who lies or twists the Truth about who Jesus is.

Could Jesus be crucified all over again? I believe that He could . . .

[Related Postings: "Our Own Role in the Passion", 4/10/17; "Why Did Jesus Have to Die?", 8/31/14; "Who Killed Jesus", 5/7/14].

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2018. All Rights Reserved.










Sunday, March 18, 2018

I Hate Evil


" Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life." -[John 12: 20-33].


A few years ago, I met someone who knew a classmate of mine, a girl who was in my fifth grade class. We are all adults now, or at least I thought so. I told this someone, "Tell her that I say hello." The message came back from this former classmate, to tell me that she was WAY more popular than I was in fifth grade.

At first I was annoyed. Why did this former classmate have to remind me of this somewhat painful time in my life? It was like a cosmic "Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah!" - from decades ago.

In fifth grade, I was ten years old. My beloved grandfather had died. I had largely stopped speaking, because I had given up on the capacity of any human to love me. I had numbed my emotions, telling myself, "I touch no one, no one touches me." I was trying to find food, and to stay safe from my brother's bullying. Being popular in class was the farthest thing from my mind.

Then, I actually had to chuckle . My former classmate was still caught up in being popular, a human construct of this World. Being "popular" was never something I had the energy to focus on. It was never my goal. It is still irrelevant to me.

What I wanted were the very things of survival. And most especially unconditional Love.

I had died to Self at such a young age, not thinking anything of myself, not wanting attention, worldly accolades, or acclaim.

As I began processing so much trauma from my childhood, I entered new territory. I gradually found myself becoming depressed. The very existence of Evil in our World brought me low, into a dark despair.

As I left my cocoon of trauma, all of the traumas from my childhood melded with all the evils of our world - the hunger of children, war, weapons of mass destruction, genocide, racism, sexism, greed, bitterness, egoism, the inhumanity of unbridled technology. I became depressed that these conditions even existed in our World.

And yet, at the same time, I was acutely aware that I am blessed to even be alive. I had come close to dying so many times - at birth almost not coming into this world alive, at four nearly drowning, at 18, at 22, at 42, at 44. . . facing down the prospect of death.

I almost wanted to say, "I HATE my Life", but my husband raised his voice at me: "How DARE you say that?!"

I know in my Heart that God does not want us to hate the Life that has been given to us. He wants us to recognize our Life as the precious Gift it is.

Attempting to reconcile this World with the Perfect is like trying to reconcile Evil with Heaven. I think that I almost cannot hold both Worlds in my head at the same time, they are so far apart.

One beginning step is for me to stop being so concerned with the trappings and reputation of this Life. Perhaps I have more expensive clothes than someone else, or a better car. It doesn't matter. Perhaps someone doesn't really like me. Finally, as a mature adult, I am okay with that. Maybe whatever that person believes is so dear is not important to me? Or maybe, that person does not even know my Heart?

I pray the Serenity Prayer daily, especially the part that says, "Taking, as Jesus did, this Sinful World as it is, not as I would have it." Accepting Evil does NOT mean I have to like it. It does mean, Evil simply IS. I cannot work against Evil, if I cannot admit that Evil is out there.

I live in the Present, but I also believe that I have the chance to go to a Perfect, Divine place in the next Life,  all because Jesus died and rose there; He went to Heaven first, FOR us.

I finally believe that I am not SUPPOSED to love all that is wrong with our World. The fact that I hate the Evil of this Life means that I have a right(-eous) sense of what is Good, a firm grasp of what it means to reach for the Divine.

The notes to my Life Application Study Bible say, "We must disown the tyrannical rule of our own self-centeredness, [and] lay aside our striving for advantage, security and pleasure [at all costs]."

As I die to my own selfish striving, I have time, and room in my Heart, to fight against what is wrong in our world, to love others, and to make a difference in this Life, no matter how small.

[Related Posting: "Losing My Life", 9/3/17; "Hating This Life", 3/25/12].


(c) Spiritual Devotional 2018. All Rights Reserved.



Sunday, March 11, 2018

Expose


" And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does evil things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might be exposed. But whoever lives the Truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God." - [John 3: 19-21].


There is a popular "New Age" phrase that says, "Speak your Truth to the Power."

At first, I was puzzled at what that meant? It felt like this rather vague phrase came out of nowhere. It did not seem to refer to any specific religion or belief system. It spoke of Truth, but WHAT Truth? Where can I find this Truth ?

When I read this passage from the Gospel of John, I see the doctrinal underpinnings of shining the light on evil, and speaking the Truth. It comes from the Bible! But can I even utter that today?

We have become so prickly about what we say, that in some cases, I cannot even say, "Love and Light", in a wholly secular way, without someone being threatened by my religious beliefs. Even this watered-down version of John 3:19-21 - "Love and Light" - is anathema to many.

And so, today we have a "watered-down" version of the Truth. We have anyone and everyone claiming that they are the only ones who know the Truth. Truth has become squishy and relative.

We utter, "Judge not, lest ye be judged", even if we know nothing else in the Bible.

But "Judge not" means : ' Take not the sum of a man's Life; and despatch not- - as merely another frail human being- - a man to either Heaven or Hell."  "Judge not" does not mean, "All moral choices here on Earth are relative."

I love the beginning of The Gospel of John: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . Through Him all things were made. . In Him was Life, and that Life was the Light of humankind. The Light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not extinguished it." -[John 1: 1-4].

This Word IS God, and it Is His Son. And the Word is God's organizing principle of the Universe, which is Love. As 1 John 4: 7-8 explains, " Beloved, let us love one another, because Love comes from God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God IS Love."

And the Word is contained in the Ten Commandments, not to kill, lie, cheat, steal, covet, and so forth.
And the Word is summed up in Jesus' first Commandment to us, "To love one another as oneself."

When I speak Truth, I speak the power of Love. I tell my son, "If it isn't Love, it isn't the Truth."

I lived in a household growing up, where all the materialism, the greed, the hatred, the jealousy, the abuse, the bitterness, the entitlement, the despair, the violence, the drunkenness, were hidden behind closed doors. If anyone had known what was going on behind those closed doors, I would have been taken away from my family.

My parents threatened me, "What goes on behind these four walls, stays behind these four walls." As a young child, I had to weigh if my punishment would be greater by remaining silent and enduring the toxic environment, OR by speaking up and risking more punishment, if my family found out I had told?

My family took my childhood attempts at Christianity as a rebuke of their own toxic behavior. I was not allowed to go to church past the age of 13, not allowed to read a Bible or wear a cross.

Lies proliferated: I was told, "You are ugly. You cry uselessly, you are too sensitive. Pick yourself up, you are not hurt. I will  to feed you. You are a failure."

Shining the Light on Evil is not a nicety, or a "movement", or a phrase for a plaque or a bumper sticker or a needlepoint pillow. Shining the Light on Evil is an act of survival. It is more than a protest, it is an act of rescuing others.

In our History, I see those who dared to speak up and call Slavery what it is - Evil. I see those who dared to work for women's right to vote, because yes, women ARE born with a brain.

I welcome the #MeToo Movement for shining a Light on predatory behavior.

There are those who will fight against the Truth, because they hate that a Light will expose their Evil.

We need all the voices and all the Love that we can get. I wish we could stop arguing over nomenclature, stop being so intimidated over Scripture, and agree on one thing: The Truth of Love is timeless. The Truth of Love is NOW.

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2018. All Rights Reserved.

















Sunday, March 4, 2018

Misplaced Anger



" Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money changers seated there.  He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves, He said, 'Take these out of here, and stop making my Father's House a marketplace.' "- [John 2: 13-16.]

In this Scripture passage, it is Passover. People from far away would come to the temple in Jerusalem to worship. Every Jewish male was required to make this pilgrimage.

But what Jesus saw when He came to the temple resembled a marketplace bazaar, and not "simple worship". The visitors had to pay a Temple Tax in local currency. Moneychangers would set up tables and charge usurious rates of currency exchange. Other merchants sold animals for sacrifice, because travelers would not want to travel with their own animals, or their own animals would be deemed too "imperfect" an offering.

I cannot remember any other time in the Bible when Jesus is shown as so angry. In fact, when I think of a Christian, I think of their lifelong pursuit of the Fruits of the Spirit - joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. -[Galatians 5: 22]. None of these, obviously, is congruent with a daily sense of outrage.

And yet, we are all too human. I get angry if the supermarket runs out of my favorite flavor of yogurt. I get angry if someone cuts me off in traffic. I get angry if someone gives me "Captain Obvious" advice, when I asked for no advice - - whatsoever.

The Fruits of the Spirit are Ideals. Something to strive for. But we all fall short. . .

I like to think of Anger as a red warning light, when something is wrong or even dangerous. Anger alerts me to a serious injustice.

These days, I find that the national mood in America is a prolonged, and extreme, era of Outrage.


I remember in the house where I grew up, I witnessed a constant stream of anger, jealousy, bitterness and hate. An immigrant to this country was treated as an Affront, just for daring to walk the streets in our town. My dad spent his days feeling entitled to far more than he had received in life, instead of being expansively grateful for all that he had. At our dinner table, there was a lot of gossip about who had more or less than we did, and how did they get it, and how superior we were to anyone else who had less. If anyone ahead of us in their car was going too slowly for my dad's taste, he would yell ethnic epithets out the window, even though he had no idea if the driver was in fact Polish, Jewish, Italian or whatever.

I find this national zeitgeist of Anger to be exhausting and disturbing and very draining. Sometimes, I am afraid to compose a sentence for fear the Gotcha Police will excoriate me for saying something "The Wrong Way." I know folks who have lost "friends" of thirty years or more, over a politically charged conversation. Sometimes, I just want to renew my Vow of Silence and stay home.

It is enlightening to me that in this Scripture, Jesus gets very angry. He even gets quite physical about it. This teaches me that it is acceptable and even expected that I get angry -- Over corruption and injustice, abuse and crime, endemic poverty, sexism and racism . . . .

But to stay in a constant attitude of Outrage over every tiny moment of slight or unintended offense is not good for me, or for our society. I wish we could have a real conversation over issues, teach each other, and share concerns in a civil discourse; rather than excommunicating someone who expresses something differently.

We have turned on the Anger Button, and we don't know how to turn it off.

[Related Postings: "Where is Your Temple",  3/9/15;  "Anger in the Temple", 3/10/12"].

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2018. All Rights Reserved.




















Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Be Dazzled



"Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And He was transfigured before them, and His clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, 'Rabbi, it is good that we are here!' . . . He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; from the cloud came a voice,
' This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him.'  Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them." --[Mark 9: 2-10].

This story of the Transfiguration of Jesus has been retold countless times, and also depicted in paintings many times. In this Scripture, we see Jesus in Divine Light, literally.

The Transfiguration comes in the Gospel of Mark, at a time after Jesus asks His disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" -[Mark 8: 27]  During this time of Transfiguration, God makes explicitly clear that Jesus is more than a prophet (Elijah), and One far surpassing the Law (Moses).  In fact, Jesus is God's Son.

It has been said that Peter, James, and John need this moment of Transfiguration to hold onto, before the slow and inevitable march to Jerusalem, where Jesus undergoes His agonizing Crucifixion.

I look back on my Life, and I would say that I NEED to see this moment of Transfiguration, myself!

Life can be terrifying, exhilarating, frustrating, joyous, tragic, and peaceful.  Life IS a wild ride.

I need to be able to see that there is Someone Else and Something Else, besides and beyond all that I see here. Surely, we cannot simply struggle, and then die. There has to be more to Life than heartache, bitterness and death.

I remember when my mother was fading away from a terminal illness. Instructing me on her final wishes, she told me, "There will be no funeral. When I am gone, just stick me in the ground and forget it."

I was horrified. Didn't she believe in anything Eternal, Divine, Glorious?

I look around me, and I see a lot of us humans beings, going to great lengths to "Be Dazzling". -- Glitter. Skin rubs. Bling. Jewels. Shiny new cars. Rhinestone studded nails. Hot treatments, for the ultimate hair shine and glow. Glowing tans. Facials with exfoliation and hyaluronic acid to promote a dewy complexion. Chemical highlights in our hair to mimic tresses that have been sun-kissed.

But the Transfiguration is not about cosmetic bling. It IS about a lasting change from within.

Not one of us human beings on Earth can probably come close to Jesus' Transfiguration. He is truly Divine. The rest of us just long for the Divine.

But I have to believe that my understanding of the Life to Come will inform my everyday Life, and transform me from Hopeless to Faith-Filled.

I have learned that the greatest inner Light comes from the Love which we give to others, and from the Enduring Hope that living in Love can transform us totally.

I have often thought that Heaven is an awful long time away. What if I cannot wait for Joy and Divine Glory?

A mystical and magical alchemy comes over me when I live with the expectation that God's unconditional Love is inside of me, and that Love can emanate out to others, right here on Earth, right now.

Jesus' Transfiguration is a great Promise for the Life to Come. But it is also my call to shine my Light on others, in the here and now.

No, Heaven cannot wait. My Heaven is now.

[Related Posting: " Lightness of Being", 3/13/17; "Transfigured", 2/22/16; "This is My Son", 3/16/14;  "Transfiguration of Christ", 3/5/12; "Transfiguration", 3/20/11.]

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2018. All Rights Reserved.













Monday, February 19, 2018

Angels and Beasts



"The Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness, and He remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to Him.
After John [the Baptist] had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God." -[Mark 1: 12-15].


The desert is a very dry place. A person wandering in the desert is parched, perhaps lost, so very thirsty. Very hungry.

A person in the desert is weak and vulnerable. Any tests that arise could mean a serious trauma, or even the End.

I look back on my life, and I feel like I was in the desert during all of my childhood, and much of my adult life.

I faced many "tests" - as a child, being fed four day old food and being told, "Eat this, or go hungry, you will get nothing else." My mother offering to fix me a plate of eggs, and my father commanding her, "Do NOT feed her."

Being hit by a sibling, and my mother telling me, "You are too sensitive." Going to school with black eyes and my mother explaining, "Well, she is a tomboy."

When we went to the lake in the summer, I would sit in the prow of my grandfather's metal fishing skiff, cross-legged. My sibling believed that I was the "look-out" for rocks and lily pads. Instead, I had turned my back on my grandfather and sibling, both literally and figuratively.

I was pretending that I was not myself, but secretly, a Native American Princess. The pines in the shadows of the forest seemed dark and velvety, luring me in. I imagined that I would run away, and live amongst the wild animals. Deer and even bears would be kind to me, even if no human was capable of Love. I would fashion a tunic out of woven bark, and forage for wild berries and nuts. I would sleep on beds of soft, green moss, and carve my very own canoe out of a fallen log.

Of course, when our time at the lake was done, I had not run away. Instead, I returned to my year-round home and to my trials.

Before reading Mark 1:12-15, I thought I was somehow being "punished" in life, by having trials. But it was not God punishing me. . . Maybe it felt like my family was punishing me, making me the scapegoat.

But we all have trials in life, as well as moments of incredible joy and hope. None of us is immune from the Desert.

I must have had invisible angels ministering to me. . . All those years when I was most hungry, a neighbor fed me. When I was walking home from school in the rain, a neighbor gave me a ride. When I was most down, a mom told me I had a beautiful smile. When I was alone, I found a friend.

I have fought for so many years for the right to be fed. For the sense of security to be safe in my own bed. For someone to not only say, "I love you", but to show it.

But these merely bring me to "stasis", to a place of equilibrium, to a place where I am not dizzy from hunger or exhausted from fear.

What my emergence from the Desert means is far more than just food, water and warm clothing. The wilderness has honed me to see what is really important in my life. I have "eyes to see and ears to hear" - [Matthew 13:16].

I am extremely grateful for those "angels" who ministered to me. They helped me to survive.

As Jesus learned, I don't need over-arching levels of Power to recover and be successful in life. I do not need an unending supply of gourmet food, in order to flourish.

What I need is Faith that in the midst of this life of storms and wilderness and desert, that there IS  deep, unconditional Love available to me.

It was only after Jesus had emerged from the wilderness, that he began proclaiming the gospel of God.

It has been only since I have emerged stronger from my own journey in the wilderness, that I have been able to say that I want my past experiences to mean something.

I refuse to believe that, the sum total of Life means, you experience trauma, then you die. My experiences will mean something only if I can give to others who are hurting, that healing, unconditional Love that I never received.

I want to turn my past hunger into feeding others. I want to turn my past shivering-cold into giving others a sweater or a coat. I want to turn my past thirst into life-giving water.

Out of the depths of my wilderness, I want to find Healing; and in the process, to help others to heal.

[Related Posting: "The Desert", 2/15/15; "The Test", 2/14/16; "Tempted", 3/4/17].

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2018. All Rights Reserved.










Monday, February 12, 2018

The Untouchables



"A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down, begged him and said, 'If you wish, you can make me clean.'  Moved with pity, He stretched out His hand, touched him and said to him, 'I will do it. Be made clean.' The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean." -[ Mark 1: 40-45].

In the Old Testament, Leviticus 13 warns that if a person has leprosy sores, he must go to a priest for a diagnosis. If a priest declares him as unclean, the person with leprosy must go around crying out, "Unclean, unclean!" He must also live apart, dwelling away from others; there he remains, outside of society, a man marked and judged by his sores.

In Mark 1: 40-45, the Astonishing happens : Jesus reaches out and touches the leper. Having been asked by the man with leprosy to cure him, Jesus declares, "I will do it!"

All of this reminds me of my childhood, during which my father would lecture me about avoiding the unclean, "the great unwashed immigrants" - anyone different that us, really; Polish, Italians, the Irish, Asian, people of color. My father would lecture us that we were English, and the English were superior, and don't ever forget that.

I was horrified by this. Every time I was in the car with him, and he would yell out an ethnic epithet at someone, I would cringe.

You see, I myself, was the brunt of bullying, by classmates and neighborhood children, for the shape of my nose, for my complexion, for the braces which I wore on my teeth, for the glasses I wore beginning in fifth grade. It did not take me long to realize that these were things about myself that I could not help.

Judge me on whether I am kind. Or whether I am patient, loyal, diligent, tolerant, gentle, etc. On things I can control.

It all became so very ridiculous when the kids began to taunt me because I was getting good grades, and was "too smart." I became afraid to speak in class, for fear that I would be bullied if I knew the answer.

It did not take me long to vow that I would never judge anyone for the things they could not change about themselves.

In this Scripture, Jesus does not just heal the leper. Jesus TOUCHES him. He touches the the leper, the unclean man whom everyone was so afraid of, that they sent him out of town.

This has gotten me to wondering, How are people who are different treated today? Who are "The Untouchables" in our world today? --

The Immigrant, especially from places such as Haiti or Africa?
People of Color?
People from " the wrong zip code"?
People from the "wrong political party"? There are Democrats who will not speak to a Republican and vice versa.
People of the "wrong religion" - Christian? Or Jewish? Or Muslim?
The Homeless?
People with mental illness?
People from rural America?
People whose first language is not English?
The elderly?
The disabled?
People who need housing or food assistance?
People who have no college education?
People who drive "the wrong kind of car"?
People who are survivors (as if you could "catch" whatever trauma they have been through)?
People who have been labeled the "Deplorables", for their beliefs?

Recently, a friend told me that she visits a dear old friend almost daily. This friend is very ill, and all the rest of her long-time friends have stopped contacting her. And why? Because this very ill woman no longer looks the way she used to. How utterly tragic. My friend visits her, and sits with her, almost daily. They watch TV, they have tea, they chat. What they "do" is unremarkable. What Love they exchange is Miraculous.

I think of myself as one of the most non-judgmental people you could ever meet. But everyone once in awhile, I "check my attitude". Am I a  bit more stand-offish or less kind to someone who looks different, or comes from different circumstances than I do?

If I catch myself drawing back from someone because I am judging them from the Outside, I am ashamed. . . Because Jesus would never judge from the Outside.

Jesus judges by the Heart.

[Related Posting: "The Touch of Love", 2/11/12].

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2018. All Rights Reserved.)