I had been an alcoholic, and God saved me. I literally owed Him my life. When I was 32, I quit my job as an attorney in Tallahassee, Florida, and left my townhouse on a golf course to go to China to share Jesus. I had the privilege of sharing the Bible with people who had never heard it before.
Fast forward to over a decade later. I was in Hong Kong, and I was floundering. When I thought about myself, all I could see were my weaknesses and failures. I was insecure and defensive. And when I looked at others, what I noticed first were their flaws and mistakes. I struggled with relationships and was ashamed of my behavior.
This wasn’t what Christianity was supposed to be. Where was my love? Why was I so negative? Why couldn’t I just enjoy people? Why couldn’t I enjoy my own life?
In my zeal, I had made knowledge of the Bible my paradigm. I was a born-again Christian, but I had chosen the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as my worldview—my way of seeing and understanding life. It was a religious worldview. I saw Christianity first and foremost as a search for truth. Everyone and everything was evaluated through this lens.
I evaluated every sermon: Was that message right or wrong? I judged people and myself. A knowledge paradigm reduces Christianity to a true/false test, and you become the judge. I was constantly looking to find what was wrong with myself, with family, friends, my church, etc.
Finally, I learned about grace. Jesus initiates a relationship with us by forgiving us—by giving us grace. The cross, the tree of life, made that possible. And Jesus continues our relationship with Him in the same way: we sin, He continues to love us, and He forgives us again.
More grace. The goal of every human life is to become like Jesus. We need to live by receiving and giving grace. I forgave myself for my flaws. I forgave others for their flaws and their offenses—or perceived offenses—against me. And I asked Jesus to help me see and love people the way He does.
Over the many years since, He’s helped me see people through His lens of love, and that has changed everything.
Activation: Look for the good in people. In Matthew 7:1, Jesus said, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
God warns us to stop judging people. Only God's grace empowers that kind of love. Grace isn’t just undeserved favor. Grace is the ability to live the life God calls us to live. Grace is power.