How Can I Show That People Are Valuable - Day 3

Alright folks...I guess most of you are back at school RIGHT NOW....crazy to think the summer's gone!  I don't want to get you sent to detention your first day cause you're checking the blog in the middle of class so let's dive right in...

We're talking this week about how we can show people that we know that they are valuable....we've already talked about not using people and not condemning and accusing people...so what about today?

See past what they are to what they can become


Read John 8:8-11 this morning....

By saying that only a sinless person should throw the first stone at the accused woman, Jesus demonstrated that He loved the woman and valued her in spite of her sin.  As a result, each of the accusers walked away until Jesus was left alone with only the woman.

Those men left because they knew who they really were, and many of them had sin in their lives just as the woman did.  God doesn't put sin on a ranking system, with one being worse than the other - sin is sin.

So imagine you're that woman, waiting to be beaten or worse, and Jesus challenges all those accusing you and they leave.  How do you think you would be feeling about Jesus at that moment?

I hate planting/gardening stuff....it just doesn't really interest me, but it's still a pretty amazing process.  I could bring a seed or a plant in it's first stages and we could all sit around and guess what type of plant it would become.  The seed or the early plant might not look like it has that much potential...it might be really short or kinda ugly or really puny looking.  But imagine seeing that plant full grown and in full bloom.  The plant full-grown is obviously gonna look a whole lot different than the plant when it's first started.  Once the plant has been given what it needs to reach its full bloom it looks remarkably different.

It's the same with people....some folks may not look like they have much potential, but with the right amount of love and a sense of being valued, they can become much more than anybody thought!

Has there been a time when someone loved you past your mistakes and poor choices and you became much more than you thought you could become?

How does believing in people can change demonstrate that you value them?

Jesus doesn't treat sin lightly but He does offer sinful people the opportunity to be forgiven and to live their lives differently.  What the woman was caught doing was totally wrong and against God's laws.  But, Jesus didn't condemn the woman, but instead forgave her and challenged her to leave her life of sin.

When we sin, it deeply hurts God because sin destroys our relationship with Him.  When Jesus saw that the woman had been caught in the act of sin, His heart was, no doubt, broken for her.  He extended compassion toward her.  He saw past what she was at that moment to what He knew she could become (and what God had created her to be).

See Jesus was capable of balancing the righteousness of God with the love of God.

How can you maintain godly standards yet still express love to others who are doing what you know to be wrong?

It's a challenge sometimes to see past where people are now and to focus on who and where they could be....but I'm sure it's tough for people to do the same for us a lot of times too.  Think on that today!

Heffe