There are all kinds of labels we put on people. Labels are convenient, but they're also destructive. When we label people, we ignore their true identity. We seal ourselves off from the possibility of really knowing them for who they really are.
Why do we label people? Most often, to make us feel good about ourselves. Labels are a way of masking our own insecurity. And insecurity isn't something we lose with age. So what can we do? Here's where the gospel comes in:
“We don't evaluate people by what they have or how they look…Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with Jesus gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life begins!God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through Jesus, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We're Christ's representatives! God uses us to persuade others to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them. We're speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you. How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God. (II Corinthians 5:16-21, MSG)
God puts a whole new label on us because of what Christ did. Until we know deep down inside that we're loved despite our flaws, we'll always be insecure, and we'll always label others.
Until we learn to look at others through God's eyes, we'll always judge others, and we'll always label others.
Only God's unconditional love can make us see others as they truly are. Only His perfect love can make us so secure, that we're able to drop the labels and deal with one another as humans who are precious in God's eyes.
What would it be like to see others, and yourself, through God's eyes?
To be part of the conversation, click on the pencil below.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment