“Treat a man as he is, and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be, and he will become as he can and should be.”- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“Potential is God’s gift to us. What we do with it is our gift to God.”- Mark Batterson
As Mark Batterson continues Chapter 7 of All In, he contrasts how Jesus saw the woman who had lived a sinful life with the Pharisees’ view of her. Jesus gave the woman something to live up to, whereas the Pharisees saw her as a sinner- nothing more, nothing less. Jesus sees past our past and our sin. He sees His image in us. Pastor Batterson goes on to differentiate between Pharisees and Prophets.
Pharisees:
1. treat people based on past performance
2. give people something to live down to
3. write people off
4. see sin
5. give up on people
Prophets:
1. treat people based on future potential
2. give people something to live up to
3. write people in
4. see the image of God
5. give people a second chance
The Pharisees reduced the woman to a label- sinner. They gave up on her. As Pastor Batterson concludes, giving up isn’t in God’s nature:
“God cannot give up on you. It’s not in His nature. His goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life. All you have to do is turn around. All you have to do is crash the party.”
Today’s question: Following your vocation loss, who have been the “prophets” in your life? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Rim huggers”
