SEEING BEYOND FACE VALUE AND NOT BEING SO QUICK TO JUDGE

  

SEEING BEYOND FACE VALUE AND NOT BEING SO QUICK TO JUDGE

I’m studying Vasari’s book about the lives of the artists in the Renaissance period. I’m on the chapter about Giotto. At first glance, I wrote him off as a very primitive artist, especially when compared to Michelangelo, Raphael, or some other art masters that came later. But I decided to give Giotto a chance, so I found a great website (wikiart.com) where I could take a closer look. I was so elated when I saw how he could communicate so many facial expressions and different body positions before somebody even discovered the idea of perspective and other techniques for figurative painting.  

 

I spent all afternoon just looking at many of his paintings and blowing them up so I could get a closer look at the wonderful details. I thought about how important it is for us to stop judging people at face value, according to how they look. If we always believe our first impressions about people, we’re probably looking carnally and not seeing the truth. Jesus never did this when he lived as a man on earth, and he doesn’t do it now. He only judges if God shows him something because God sees the heart. We need to look at people the way Jesus does. Like it says in 1 Samuel 16:7: “But the Lord said unto Samuel, ‘Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.’”

 

We can see in the Old Testament many examples of how God worked through people who had physical or mental infirmities, like Moses who had anger issues, Jacob who had a limp, the lepers who saved a whole city, and many others. God didn’t care about how people looked or how poor their mental health was. If people wanted to serve Him, He would show them how. It’s the same today.

 

People criticized Jesus for his interaction with Zacchaeus. We see the story in Luke 19: 1-7:

 

“And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchæus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. 

 

“And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. 

 

“And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, ‘Zacchæus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house.’ 

 

“And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying that he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.”

 

Jesus didn’t judge Zacchaeus by the way he looked, how short he was, by the money he had, or by any other standard, but only that the man really wanted to see Jesus. So Jesus went to spend a little time with the man at his house. Have you ever had Jesus come to your house? He will if you want him to. You may think I’m crazy, but Jesus comes to our house a lot in the evenings to just hang out and be with us. That’s what he did with Zacchaeus, and he even tells us in Revelation 3:20: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” We can take that literally as well as spiritually. When he comes to our house, he brings a peace that fills the whole living room. Jane says that everything just always feels sweet when he arrives. And he doesn’t even care that we’re in our pj’s or have bad hair. He doesn’t care about any of that carnal stuff.

 

When I first looked at Giotto’s paintings, I only briefly looked at a very small photo and quickly dismissed it as primitive. But at a closer look, I saw his heart and his tremendous talent. The heart and talent is what Jesus sees, and it’s what God sees. Let’s walk in the image of the Lord and see people like true believers are supposed to see each other.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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