There is so much hope in these chapters. After studying them and the talks referenced in Come, Follow Me, I feel so grateful for the infinite love of the Son of God. He knows us and loves us perfectly. He gives us chances again and again. Because of Him and our Father's plan, we have the ability to choose and the freedom to grow from our mistakes. We don't have to be servants of sin forever. Isn't that good news?
John 7:24 JST
24 Judge not according to your traditions, but judge righteous judgment.
I like this change in the JST to "your traditions." We all have traditions or habits in our minds. We often judge people based on what our traditions tell us about them. Maybe we've had bad experiences with certain types of people and assume all are the same. Maybe we think styles of clothing or other choices in appearance tell us who people are. Righteous judgement isn't that kind of judgement. Jesus Christ looks on the heart and so should we. We need to put away our critical eyes and see with His love. Everyone is a child of God and is equally adored and wanted by Him. He wants all of us to come home. Furthermore, we all have weaknesses, so what's the point of judging people because they sin differently than we do?
John 8:10-12
10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Jesus hates the sin, not the sinner. He can't condone sin, but He knows that our actions aren't always who we are. Thank goodness! He sees us. He sees our individuality and our divine nature, apart from all our mistakes. Because of Him, bad choices don't have to define us. We can turn to Him and repent and not only do better, but be better. He didn't condemn this woman who had certainly done wrong. He gave her a chance to walk in light instead of darkness, and she took it. He didn't focus on her past. He focused on her future and her ability to sin no more. He wanted that for her. He wants that for us, too, because He loves us.
John 10:10
10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
He wants us to have life with abundance. That's real joy. Not only do we receive immortality from Him, but we also receive the opportunity to have joy forever. In moments of weakness, we don't deserve all the blessings He wants to give us, but He doesn't define us by those moments. He defines us by our potential and our hearts. He gives us the tools to change. He is so merciful.
See Others as They May Become by President Thomas S. Monson:
We need to bear in mind that people can change. They can put behind them bad habits. They can repent from transgressions. They can bear the priesthood worthily. And they can serve the Lord diligently.
...
During the 1940s and 1950s, an American prison warden, Clinton Duffy, was well known for his efforts to rehabilitate the men in his prison. Said one critic, “You should know that leopards don’t change their spots!”
Replied Warden Duffy, “You should know I don’t work with leopards. I work with men, and men change every day.”
...
Brother Tanner asked him what was different about his approach—why he had such phenomenal success when others didn’t. The young man said that he attempted to baptize every person whom he met. He said that if he knocked on the door and saw a man smoking a cigar and dressed in old clothes and seemingly uninterested in anything—particularly religion—the missionary would picture in his own mind what that man would look like under a different set of circumstances. In his mind he would look at him as clean-shaven and wearing a white shirt and white trousers. And the missionary could see himself leading that man into the waters of baptism. He said, “When I look at someone that way, I have the capacity to bear my testimony to him in a way that can touch his heart.”
We have the responsibility to look at our friends, our associates, our neighbors this way. Again, we have the responsibility to see individuals not as they are but rather as they can become. I would plead with you to think of them in this way.
I love this talk. This loving perspective brings new meaning to seeing others as Jesus Christ sees them. It reframes my idea of charity. We need to see the potential in others. Within every person, no matter their outside appearance, is a spiritual child of God wanting to make it home to Him. It reminds me of this quote by C.S. Lewis:
“It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all of our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.”
We don't want to focus on the potential for evil that we all have, but instead the potential for great goodness. Everyone we see is an immortal with awe-inspiring divine nature. That is what matters. The stuff of this mortal life isn't nearly as important as the people because we are all eternal beings.
That person you judged on the street yesterday? A possible god. The driver you were angry with? A child of our Father doing the best they can with what they've been given. The person your mental traditions deemed sketchy? A spirit who chose Jesus Christ in the pre-existence and who longs for light as much as you do. That's the reality.
Yes, people make bad choices. Yes, we need to have boundaries. But there is so much hope and power in seeing the potential and the divine nature in everyone we meet. That will enable us to treat them with the kindness God expects of us - and needs us to have. If we serve and love others just to accomplish an agenda, it won't work. We need to have genuine respect for who they are as people and the experiences they've had. We need to acknowledge that there's a reason they've chosen what they have. Then, we can touch their hearts from a place of genuine love and charity.
John 8:24
24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
John 8:31-36
31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
33 They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
We don't have to die in our sins and we don't have to be enslaved by them. Instead, we can follow the Son and become members of the household of God. We can be free from all our mistakes. Not to mention our sorrows and all the difficulties of mortality. We don't have to stay where we are, wallowing in our imperfections and weaknesses. In our darkest moments, we can use the Savior's Atonement to rise spiritually just as He rose from death. We can make covenants with Him and then be cleansed again and again as we repent. He doesn't limit us to who we are now. We have the freedom to grow - forever.
John 8:51
51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
When we follow Him and give Him the sacrifice of ourselves, He saves us from spiritual death.
John 5:24
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
John 11:26
26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
We never have to die spiritually. There is so much hope in Jesus Christ. Do we realize how much? Do we realize exactly how much is possible because of Him?
John 9:41
41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.
Only our Savior knows how much we "see" and are held accountable for. That's why it's not fair for us to judge others. We don't know their full circumstances and everything that impacts their vision. One of my favorite talks of all time is Ensuring a Righteous Judgment by Elder James R. Rasband. He says:
Although we do not fully understand the sacred mechanics by which the Savior’s atoning sacrifice heals and restores, we do know that to ensure a righteous judgment, the Savior will clear away the underbrush of ignorance and the painful thorns of hurt caused by others. By this He ensures that all God’s children will be given the opportunity, with unobscured vision, to choose to follow Him and accept the great plan of happiness.
I depend on that future day when I will have unobscured vision. Mortality brings many trials. It brings a veil over our eyes that prevents us from remembering all the eternal things. We have so much to learn, grow, and heal from. Our Savior understands exactly what we've been through. He knows who we are and our intentions. Only Him. No matter the sins that we see in others, it's guaranteed that there are things about their lives we don't know. Our vision is always obscured, so we need to have mercy.
Because of Him, we can pursue our eternal potential without our pasts holding us back. We can see the divine nature in everyone and love them as He does. We can reach for eternal horizons and utilize our covenants to gain salvation. We can have abundance. Let us rejoice today and always in the gift of the Son who makes all things possible.
Bonnie Gwyn
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