Acts 28
By Pastor Libby
How quick are we to judge?
Growing up in the Nazarene Church I can remember the days when my parents required me to wear a dress every time that we attended a service, Sunday mornings, Sunday nights, and Wednesday nights. It wasn’t until we moved to La Grande, Oregon in the early 80’s that mom and dad relented and began letting us as teenage girls wear pants for evening services.
I look back on that time, and wonder why it was so important to dress up. I understand now some of it had to do with respect and obeying my parents, but I also see that we were trying to “look like Christians.” We had this traditional view of what a follower of Christ should wear and jeans did not fit that profile.
Here in Acts 28, the islanders of Malta, based on Paul being bit by a snake, make a judgment call about him. “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea Justice has not allowed him to live.”
Justitia was a goddess frequently depicted as a woman carrying a sword and scales, and wearing a blindfold. To the Malta Islanders death was justice for everyone who took another’s life. But Paul was no murderer; he shook the snake off and suffered no ill effects. Upon finding him in full health, the islanders then proclaimed him a god.
How quick are we to judge others, based on what they are wearing, or the circumstances we observe them in? Until we can see the whole picture of their lives and their hearts, to profile them as a thief or prince, we are as fickle as the Maltans who called Paul murderer and god.
Let us take a lesson from these people and let us be healed of our petty judgments. As we serve and worship the true God of justice who is all about grace, let us as Christians extend that same grace to those we come in contact with. Hey….it’s got to be easier than being bit by a snake!
