how we see people

Jeff @ demerging has this interesting post:

Sometimes I wonder if Christianity is about me at all. Maybe it's just about freeing us from seeing other people the way we've always thought God would treat them. Certainly, we all treat people the way we think God treats people. The problem is, when we don't understand what the cross accomplished, we miss out on the main message... how great God's love is! If we continue to see Him as someone who only loves others who love Him, we will only love others that love us. If we see God as quick to condemn others for not "measuring up", we will condemn others for not measuring up. If we see God as blessing only those who deserve it, we will only put our blessing on those who we think deserve it.

When we miss the point of the cross, and the message of redemption to all mankind, we are doomed to suffer through life treating others the same way our misguided perception of God tells us to. Maybe we can find salvation from ourselves and our ideas of a God who expects us to perform to His standards. Until we learn that it's not about performance, and simply about acceptance, we will only realize a glimpse of the goodness of life with God.