the work tells the story of a man named jean valjean, a man imprisoned for almost 20 year simply for stealing a loaf of bread. in jail, valjean becomes more of an animal than a man to survive. when he's finally released, he's given a yellow ticket, putting him on life parole and limiting his existence to almost certain poverty. valjean happens upon a bishop's home, and asks for food. the bishop, instead of turning him away like every other family in the town has, lets him in. he allows the convict to eat with him, and to sleep in a bed of his own. valjean, seeing a chance for a quick fix of money he'll never have again, steals all of the silver utensils he can in the night. when he's stopped by the local officers, they become suspicious, and take him back to the bishop's house for questioning. instead of putting him back in jail, the bishop tells the men that the silver was a gift. he then offers valjean more of the silver in his house than he took in the first place. when the stunned valjean asks why, the bishop replies "with this silver, i have bought your soul. i've ransomed you from fear and hatred. and now i give you back to God."
a movie was made of the story. here's the whole clip pf the scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-KRbQFtQ0w
the implications of this scene are limitless, but i want to focus on one point: the bishop knew the value of a soul. as humans, we often judge others based on a physical or shallow basis. we assume that people are "good" or "bad" based on their looks, whether we like their personalities or not, whether they are nice to us or not, or by what our friends tell us about them. however, do these things really tell us all that much about a person?
consider this: if you judged yourself based only on the criteria above, would it still be so easy to justify your actions?
your looks, for the most part, are little of your own doing. you can work out, or eat right, etc., but in the end, your genetics will almost always determine at least half if not more of whether or not you are one way or another physically. so you really can't credit your looks too much to yourself. why judge the value of a person on something they have only so much power to change?
if we judge based on our personalities, what are we judging by? to a person who is naturally calm and reserved, someone who is as hyper as i am will normally seem obnoxious, because they associate a quiet atmosphere with peace, patience, kindness, and goodness, and see someone with my energy as chaotic and destructive. to someone like me, a naturally quiet person normally seems afraid and hurt, because i naturally tend to associate quiet with emptiness, loneliness, and hopelessness. but both of these personality types are actually aiming towards the same goal: love. why would i judge someone because God made them to enjoy His presence in a different way from me? i should instead realize that the fact that He isn't limited to my personality type, but is the God of others different from me, is liberating because it means that i can share something (His love) with these people that seem so different from me.
finally, if we judge someone based on how they treat us or what others tell us of them, what do we accomplish? what do i really know of that person? do i really claim to know all of their struggles, their past, their family? when we value someone based on how they treat us, we make ourselves out to be worthy enough to give value to someone's life. i cannot determined how valuable a person is based on my own limited knowledge of them. the facts are, if i am not God, no matter what i think i know about someone, i can't judge them and be completely correct or unbiased, so i shouldn't judge them at all.
the bishop understands this. he shows valjean love, regardless of every wrong done to him. he sees value in his life because he knows that God sees value in his life, and for this reason, he gives valjean the secret to his hope...
hope is an often used, but rarely thought of word. we often associate hope with our expectations or desires for the future. but is that all hope is?
not at all. hope is, at its core, what you put your faith in. what you pursue, worship, and desire is your hope. this is enormous, because every human being puts their hope in something. all people are inherently empty. in the words of a friend:
"People, I have discovered, are born with a crack. This crack is large and in fact is the heart. People have a tendency to want to fill this crack with things they believe to be comforting. Because of this condition, we have a desire to love and to be loved. Any way we can try to fill this, we do."
just think about it: what do you attempt to fill your heart with? is it people's approval, your own talents, addictions... the list could go on forever. whatever that thing is, it is your hope. is it filling the gap, or does it still leave you wanting more? listen to another quote from the same friend:
"knowing that we are broken people, we want to pretend we are whole. this crack in our heart for Love, we fill with things that don't fit and then put on a front so we are not vulnerable to others. no matter what we attempt to fill this crack with, it doesn't fit and only brings momentary happiness but hurts even more in the long run. we inevitably have to find something else to put in its place. this is a crack in the shape of God, and thus God is the only "slipper that fits." We are the Cinderella for God."
there's also a song by mandisa talking about this called "voice of a savior" (watch it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2IB1InD0rY)
God made you with an amazing purpose in mind. He made you to love and be loved by Him.
"but now you have arrived at your destination: by faith in Christ you are in direct relationship with God. your baptism in Christ was not just washing you up for a fresh start. it also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe—Christ's life, the fulfillment of God's original promise." -galations 3:25-27
God's Word says the whole destination for a fulfilled life is a relationship with God, and that that was God's original promise (and plan) for humanity! that's the whole point of it all! and that is the ultimate hope for humanity. fulfillment of that seemingly infinite emptiness doesn't come from any political ideology, technological advancement, physical finesse, intelligence, popularity, substance or wealth. the only real hope for humanity is Jesus Christ and His love for us. this utterly infinite love is what fulfills us.
when the bishop shows valjean hope in God, he gives him the ability to produce faith through that hope, and faith must follow love. the story goes on, and valjean faces poverty, the death of multiple loved ones, having all that he works for dashed to pieces in a moment, and pursuit from the law for the rest of his life till the day he dies. but, throughout his utterly miserable life, he continues on because he has God as his hope for the future.
this is the power of Christ in a life. not that we will have perfect, pain free lives, but that we will have fulfillment through the storms and Heaven for the future.
so, what does this mean for us? it means that we can't choose who we think is or isn't worthy of God's love. He's showered Himself on all of us, so we should follow Him and do the same.
"but
samuel had been a prophet since he was a teenager. he'd talked directly to God, done a multitude of miracles, and seen God's power over and over again in his life. yet even he failed to judge the heart of the men before him. if a prophet of that stature cannot pierce completely through the soul of a person and judge him correctly, how can i? my only option is to share with all God's love for them through my words and actions.
to everyone who's struggling with judging those around you, i encourage you to take Jesus at His word when He says:
" but I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!" - matthew 5:44
to those who feel they're hopeless, remember that He valued you enough to go to the cross. don't waste your life feeling guilty when He went through so much to make you blameless in God's eyes!
finally, to those who feel miserable, make Him your hope. place your faith in Him. hold on to His love for you. He'll be your fulfillment.
" and this hope will not lead to disappointment. for we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love." -romans 5:5
" Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love." - 1 corinthians 13:13
" this is why we work hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers." - 1 timothy 4:10
hoping and praying for you guys! God bless!
