Go the Extra Mile in Someone Else's Skin

I just finished reading Joshua and the Children by Joseph F. Girzone. It is a sequel to his previous book Joshua. Both are very good books that tell stories of Jesus returning to modern times and living in communities as a man named Joshua – unrecognized for who he truly is. I read Joshua several years ago and was delighted at how the author captured the character and compassion of Jesus. I came to the second book hoping for that same sense of Jesus’ presence. I was not disappointed.

I have also been reading the Gospels – particularly the passages of Jesus’ teaching and ministry. This reading combination has been a good one. They dovetail together beautifully and the Lord has been speaking to my heart.

Joshua and the Children dealt with the second part of the greatest commandment – loving your neighbor as yourself. It especially challenges the reader to love your enemies as Jesus taught in Matthew 5:44. In the book, Joshua arrived in a rural village that was experiencing a great deal of enmity between the Catholic and Protestant churches. The adults were so ingrained with prejudice, that Joshua bypassed them and went straight to building a relationship with the village children. Through them, opportunities arose for Joshua to reach the adults. There are several passages in the book that specifically spoke to my heart. All of them involve Joshua speaking to adults about relationships and dealing with people. I have been processing all of this along with the scriptural teachings of Jesus that likely influenced the novel’s author.

In one particular passage, Joshua is talking about the reaction that people had to Jesus. “They followed him everywhere because they knew he understood their anguish and their pain and looked past their failings. Sinners felt comforted in the presence of Jesus, and their lives changed in time.” In another passage, Joshua teaches about forgiveness. “And that is the key to peace, personal peace and peace among peoples – do not allow yourself to take offense. Always try to understand why people say and do the things they do, the inner anguish that gives rise to those things, and then it is hard to take offense. Indeed, you can even pity them. You may be wary, so you can protect yourself, but you can still reach out and be a brother and sister to those people, never despairing of trying to heal their troubled, tortured souls. Jesus himself lived that way. He never took offense, and his last words were ‘Father, forgive them, they know not what they have done.’”

Harper Lee expressed the heart of this idea very simply in To Kill a Mockingbird, when Atticus Finch explained this concept to his young daughter. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” This idea has been expressed through many sayings in many different cultures. One of my favorite versions is from The Big Valley TV series when Jubal Tanner told Jarrod Barkley that an oak tree looked very different to a hoot owl than it did to a ground squirrel.

The world has many variations on this idea; but what about scripture? In Jesus’ day, there was a law that enabled a Roman soldier to require any citizen to carry his load for one mile. In Matthew 5:41, Jesus said: “And whoever shall compel you to go a mile, go with him two.” He spoke this in context of loving our enemies and blessing those who persecute us. He is telling us to go that extra mile to help our enemies, to carry their load so that we may better understand them.

This may seem like a strange requirement. How can we possibly see things from someone else’s point of view? It’s easy when we have the Holy Spirit. Through His gifts of discernment and word of knowledge, we can. We can even see a person as God sees them. Our Father knows all the secrets of people’s lives. He sees the abuses, the wounds, the betrayals and all the ugly things that have been heaped onto people’s souls that cause them to lash out to harm others. Make no mistake, He does not excuse the behavior; but He has compassion for the person. When we tap into His divine gifts, we are able to see people through our Father’s heart. We are filled with compassion for them and therefore we are able to extend grace and mercy as our Father does.

Years ago, I found myself sitting across a table from a man that I did not like in the least. I was very offended by his arrogance and intimidating attitude. There were others around the table as well and the man across from me was determined to prove his point to us all. I was about to just leave the table in disgust, but the Lord stopped me. He spoke to my spirit to stay put. I proceeded to have a silent argument with the Lord, but stayed at the table. I stopped arguing when the Lord managed to get across to me that He wanted me to see this man as He saw him. So, I got still. I watched the man and listened to the tone of his voice. I read between the lines. I allowed the Holy Spirit to give me discernment. I saw the pain and misunderstanding of the man. My heart filled with compassion and my attitude towards him was changed. After that, I saw this man from a different perspective. Sometimes he still got on my last nerve, and at times I stumbled in my love walk towards him; but I was able to honestly care about the man and show him kindness and mercy. I don’t know how my change in attitude affected him, but it helped me to remain in a place of peace and forgiveness. It changed me.

That’s the whole point of seeing another person’s point of view – for our own attitude and emotions toward that person to be changed. Yes, there are many times that the Lord will give us discernment or a word of knowledge to speak change into a person’s life…or to plant a seed for change. When that happens, it will always be a change that will benefit the other person, regardless of how it affects us personally. In other words, it is wrong to use what God reveals to us through His gifts to try to change a person for our own benefit. Changing people is God’s business, not ours. He may use us to facilitate, but we should never go about it freelance. What the Lord reveals to us is meant to change us – our perception of the other person, so that we may fulfill His commandment of love.

"Judge not, that you may not be judged. For with whatever judgment you judge, you shall be judged; and with whatever measure you measure out, it shall be measured to you again. And why do you look on the splinter that is in your brother's eye, but do not consider the beam that is in your own eye? Or how will you say to your brother, Let me pull the splinter out of your eye; and, behold, a beam is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First cast the beam out of your own eye, and then you shall see clearly to cast the splinter out of your brother's eye." - Matthew 7:1-5

Father, please forgive me for the countless times that I have fallen short in these areas. I have a desire to do better. Please help me to master the gift of seeing people through your eyes and your heart, so that I may better understand them. Help me to change my attitude towards people, setting aside frustration and offense and replacing it with compassion and mercy. I am grateful for your patience with me. Thank you for forgiving my failings and teaching me how to turn them into victories. Help me to do the same for others. In Jesus' name, Amen.