A Friend Who Knows The Real Me

Tuesday, January 16, 2018 Week II in Ordinary Time

1Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 89; Mark 2:23-28

Not as man sees does God see. Humans see the appearance, but the Lord looks into the heart.”

1Samuel 16:7

God told Samuel not to judge by appearances. Jesus said the same thing when people judged his disciples by their actions. Jesus looks to the heart. That is where we see the truth, the reality, of what a human person is.

Yes, actions do count. Jesus said, “You will know them by their fruits. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree good fruit” (Matthew 7:16). But that is not absolute. Aristotle (384–322 BCE) is supposed to have said, “One swallow does not a summer make, nor one fine day a spring.” One good or bad action does not let us judge that a person is good or bad. For that we have to look to the heart.

That is what Jesus does. He doesn’t judge us by our sins, but by whether or not our sins bother us. If a sin bothers me, that proves my heart is good; I accept Christ’s values. Every time I recognize a sin in myself, I see how good I am! I can’t look down on anything unless something within me has risen above it.

Friendship is interaction. Interact with Jesus and he will show you the true, the good, and the beautiful in your heart.

ACTION: When some sin bothers you, ask what good that proves Jesus sees in you.

PRAYER: “Lord, be with me. Let me be with you.”