You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. (Rom. 2:1)

A Christian businessman tells of a personal experience that transformed his understanding of the gospel. He had an employee who was stealing from the company. Though the boss gave the employee opportunity to change, the man just kept on stealing.

At his wit’s end, the businessman sought out his pastor for guidance. But the more the boss described the man who kept sinning despite the grace offered him, the more the boss recognized he was describing his own habitual sin.

Through the experience, the businessman experienced the gospel at a level beyond Sunday school courtesies. He realized how much he desperately needed God’s grace, and how generous was the heart that offered it. 

Of course, stealing has to stop, but we are best equipped to deal with such sin when we understand how God has dealt with our sin. He disciplines when he must, but never without the goal of reaching the heart and redeeming the person.

Prayer:

Lord, I know that I am more ready to judge others, than to face my own sin. Help me not to forget the grace that is your goal as I deal properly with the sin of others by remembering how you have dealt with similar in me.