I think that humans provide many hours of fascinating study. Why do some humans turn out the way that they do? How much of their behaviour is down to personality and how much comes from their social environment and upbringing? And why are humans often so quick to judge and condemn one another when they are far from perfect themselves? I reckon that humans need a load of wise parrots to help them sort themselves out!
I was recently reminded of this fact by my owner’s wife who came across the scene of a road traffic accident. A white van had somehow clipped a rock on the side of the road and turned over, blocking the road.
The driver managed to climb out. He was extremely agitated and had a cut on his head which my owner’s wife attended to. And while she was looking after him and waiting for the emergency services to arrive, she got the whole life story! The human was from London. He’d travelled to North Devon to enjoy a day’s surfing. But then it turned out that he was uninsured and banned from driving. His wife had left him and was preventing him from seeing his three children. He’d attempted to take his own life the previous year. He also openly admitted that he’d taken drugs and consumed alcohol which had probably contributed to the crash. Not only was his van a complete mess, but so was this human’s life.
Another human appeared with a Land Rover and a tow rope and proceeded to pull the van off to the side of the road. The terrible screeching of metal on tarmac audibly expressed the inner angst and turmoil of this human’s life. He knew that he would now be going to prison. And when the emergency services eventually arrived, he openly admitted to everything.
His one redeeming feature was his honesty. He made no attempt to deny what he’d done or search for excuses. He faced up to the consequences of his actions. Yes he was a danger to other humans on the road and shouldn’t have been driving. He could have killed someone. And there will be lots of other humans who, hearing about the crash, will be lining up to condemn him for his recklessness and stupidity….
The time will come when every one of us will reflect back on our lives before God. We too will have made some pretty awful mistakes. But ultimately, God will love us and forgive us and rescue us if we are genuinely sorry and own up to what we have done with humility in our hearts. Very few humans are born equal. Some have a much better start in life than others and find it easier to live out their lives on a true and steady path. We don’t know the full background to the driver’s life story. So who are we to condemn him?
There are lots of characters in the Bible who were condemned by their fellow humans but saved by Jesus. Prostitutes (Luke 7: 44-48), tax collectors (Luke 19: 1-10), a woman guilty of adultery (John 8: 1-30) and the criminal on the cross (Luke 23: 43). Every one of them was saved because they faced up to their sins and sought forgiveness.
