Recently I was taking some pictures in my backyard when I came across this apple tree. The tree has lost all of it's leaves, but there are some apples still clinging to some of the branches. Everything on the tree looks ugly and dead. I took a picture of one the rotten looking apples that was just hanging there. It didn't have the beauty or eye appeal that a nice juicy red apple has in the summer time. There is nothing on the outside that would cause anyone to say, "Wow, I wish I had that apple!" It just looks totally undesirable to the naked eye.
Sometimes when I take pictures I usually take a pause and I think a little bit. The Lord seemed to impress something on my very heart the more I looked at this poor ugly looking apple just hanging there on a dead looking tree.
Sometimes, unfortunately, we look at people and see how they look on the outside and we judge them. We may not even realize that we do it at times and other times we do realize it. We know it is not right to judge people by their looks. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:1-6 not to judge others hypocritically or self-righteously.
Matthew 7:1-6 says,
1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?
5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
We tend to judge people from the outside, but God looks at people's hearts. You and I can't see a person's heart. We can see their actions and demeanor. We can make assumptions and sometimes that isn't very fair either because sometimes people just have a bad day. We all have bad days and sometimes when we have those bad days we don't necessarily act very nice.
It is all too easy to look down on those around us, but Jesus wants us to love others and that sometimes is easier said than done especially when they appear rotten looking on the outside. We must get over that and ask God to help us see people as He sees them. God loves people and it is His desire that no one miss out on a chance to have their sins forgiven through Jesus Christ. Jesus took the punishment for our sins upon Himself when He died on the Cross. He even died for the sins of those we consider undesirable, but you know what? We are all like that rotten apple in a way. We may not be very nice to look at times in one way or another because of our sin nature, but God loves us very deeply and we ought to love others as He so greatly loves us.
That rotten apple also reminded me of something else as well. Even though it looked so ugly and useless, within that apple there is great potential. You see within that apple are apple seeds which can grow into a large tree that could produce many apples. There is great potential deep within each one of us when we come to faith in Jesus Christ. There is potential for those who don't know Christ yet.
We believers in Jesus Christ need to stop looking at the outside of a person and their condition and start loving them as Jesus would and does. We all have sinned and we all need a Savior. There is only One Name under Heaven in which we must be saved by and that Name is Jesus Christ. May we go out and love people and tell them about Jesus and what He has done for them.
Lord,
Forgive us for judging people for what is on the outside.
Help us to love others as You so greatly love us.
Grant us courage to love the ones we consider unlovable.
Empower us through Your Holy Spirit to tell others about the Gospel Message of Jesus Christ.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen.
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