How do we make a judge a person? We judge them by what they have done in the past. We develop a mental picture, or a personality profile about every person we become acquainted with, based on something we know or have heard about that person, such that whenever we see him/her, our mind seems to 
say ‘remember what he did..’ or ‘you know what he’s like’ or ‘remember what so and so told you about him ’. And it is this judgement that determines our behaviour. If we know him to be good, our behaviour becomes good, if we know him to be bad or we have heard about how bad he is, our behaviour towards that person becomes bad.Now that is how we humans see, judge and treat each other.
But How does God see man? How did Jesus see the common man? It becomes pretty obvious if we study His life. If Jesus saw and dealt with people like we do, He would have been a very lonely man all His life on Earth. Because He could look at a person and look into his past , present and future all at the same time, he would know precisely the all the things I had done, was doing and would do. And I am sure no one has a record to be proud of, because we all have fallen one time or the other. And that is why I say, he would not have had any friends. but that is not the case, Jesus had many, many friends and the number keeps growing. Why? Because Jesus saw men differently. Unlike us, Jesus saw underneath the skin of sin we wear, He saw beyond our mistakes. He saw each man for what he truly is: Made in God’s likeness. and as God is good, goodness is also found in His likeness,(that is) in Us. And that is why knowing all that He knew about us, Jesus was still able to love us. That is why Jesus, seeing crowds following Him, had compassion on them and healed them. That is why Jesus sat on a rock and wept for the future of a city that was going to mock and kill him. That is why He was able to call His disciples one by one knowing very well that each of them would desert him in His need. And that is why well knowing how many were going to deny him, mock him, and reject him in the ages to come, he was still willing to lay down his life for all mankind. Its because he saw men differently, he saw glimpses of His father in all of us, and it filled Him with love. True love, selfless love and the forgiving love. And until we learn to forgive we can never see like Jesus saw. Until we learn to forgive, we will find fault with everyone on earth. Oh, we could learn to see like Jesus saw, loneliness, envy and enemies would disappear.
I don’t know what inspired it, but Nathanial Hawthorne wrote a fascinating tale entitled The Scarlet Letter in 1850, which is very relevant in this context. It tells the story of a young woman named Hester Prynne in mid-17th century Boston who commits adultery with the town’s minister (Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale) while her husband is away as a result of which a daughter is born. As punishment for her great sin and the fact that she refuses to disclose the identity of her lover the town magistrates order her to wear a scarlet (red) letter "A" on the bodice of her dress, so that everyone can know about her adultery. They also have her parade through the town displaying her scarlet "A" and then make her stand on top of the town scaffold (a public stage) along with the illegitimate child. She is forced to wear that scarlet letter like a badge on her dress for the rest of her life.
As the story goes on, the unforgiving town she lives in is reminded of her sin every time they see her, and the sight of that sinner fills them with hate for her. and so she and her daughter live a lonely and secluded life in the outskirts of town. when children would see her they would ask their parents why the lady is wearing the letter ‘A’ and the story would then pass to another generation. If all the guilt and shame of her sin upon her wasn’t enough, the burden of the scarlet letter made sure she sank. Even her acts of charity which she does for the towns people never seem to fade away her sin of ‘Adultery’ from the minds of the people. And even though Hester Prynne is repentant of her ‘moment of weakness’ that town remains unforgiving and unforgeting.
This story paints a powerful picture of how we are today. We too have mentally placed labels on people. Him ‘T: thief’, her ‘B: Bad character’, Him ‘C: cheat’, P: proud, L: liar, H: Hypocrite and the list just goes on and on. We have our own scarlet letters placed on people based on what they have done in the past. and each time we see them, the scarlet letter reminds us of what they did, we judge how they really are and are unforgiving. It fills us up with hate and we want them to pay for it. But remember that is not how Jesus saw people. Otherwise, he would not be able to see any of us, we would all be head to toe in letters, big scarlet letters, each one a reminder of some sin we have done or will do. No, He saw me for what I was made to be. Perfect and Holy. Made in God’s Likeness.
If there is one thing we need to change, this year, it is our sight, our view of people. we need to learn to see people like Jesus saw them ‘see them like they really are!’ and ‘not what we thin
k they really are’. For a change this year, ignore the scarlet letters, stop putting labels, forgive, forget and see the good, the likeness of God in everyone you see. You will make lots more friends, many of your problems would no longer remain and most of all, you’ll get a special label from God, one that will say ‘S: This is My SON in whom I am well pleased’.
