Mirror, Mirror, on the wall

At church last weekend our pastor talked about forgiveness, judgement, love and humility. One of the most powerful stories demonstrating these qualities is the unlawful presentation of the adulteress in the temple at Jesus' feet by the religious leaders of the day. As they used her to try to trap Jesus in a catch 22 they found themselves thwarted by logical grace. Sure, there were to be punishments for law-breakers. What Jesus took issue with was the self-righteous nature so boldly on display and yet completely overlooked.

Essentially, Jesus said, "Take a look in the mirror, first, then decide if you are worthy of playing judge." The first place we should always look when we feel ready to judge someone is in the mirror. And when we look in that mirror, what we should see is a child of God, a follower of Jesus, a lover of enemies and neighbors alike. And as we turn to look at others we should see other children of God, whether estranged from their Father or not.

The funny thing about this past weekend was that the opportunity to practice this lesson came immediately after church as we worked on plans to meet up with some people who would logically be considered enemy-types, those on the other side. Yet who am I to observe any lines that were drawn by anyone other than God? His lines, the ones between sin and life, between forgiveness and unforgiveness, between walking in the light and walking in the darkness, are the only lines that I need to measure my actions against. So plans were made, visiting happened, awkward feelings turned into wonderment at how God equips us for his calls as we choose to answer, "Send me." And in the end I received a text that read, "Thank you for welcoming our family."

Forgiveness and grace. Such power. So humbling, regardless of whether you are the forgiver or the forgiven, the sparer or the spared. When the pastor asked aloud what we thought Jesus was like, the first word that came to my mind was humble. He ate with the rejected, he ministered to the outcast, he served his brothers and he welcomed time with children. The first shall be last and the last shall be first. Why? Because the One who deserves the honor of first place has chosen to trade down. He gave his spot to me. And because I want to be like him, I too will give up my spot, the cycle of life-giving humility.