We carry around secrets. Those secrets are heavy burdens for us. We don’t want anyone to know our pasts or to be defined by our worst actions. We shudder at the thought of others in our study group, PTA or bowling league being fully aware of our lives that might include violence, sexual assault, abuse, drunkenness and the other stuff we have done.
Numerous TV shows portray virtuous police officers becoming exactly like the people they’re trying to bust. This happens in real life too. We read about cops who steal the money from a drug bust and keep it for themselves. This risk of becoming like the people around us is a persistent and dangerous threat to our Christian walk.
An incident in the early life of David instructs us about how God sees people and how we should see them as well.
God was not happy with King Saul, so He told His prophet Samuel that He wanted to anoint another man to be king. God directed Samuel to travel to Bethlehem, to the house of Jesse. When Samuel arrived, Jesse did what any man in his community would have done: he brought his firstborn son to Samuel. Eliab was tall, handsome, and strong. Samuel looked at Eliab and said to himself, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed” (1 Samuel 16:6). But Samuel was wrong. There is an important lesson for us in his error.
Jesus loved all people, not judging them for their gender, occupation, or race. When Jesus rose from the dead, He announced His resurrection to Mary. Jesus worked through a woman to bring Peter and John to Him. This was radical. Women had no status in first- century Jerusalem. Women couldn’t offer testimony at a trial, and men rarely spoke to women in public.
Jesus also did not discriminate on the basis of occupation.
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