Recently, I’ve been in a couple of discussions that I found both intriguing and disturbing.
We were reflecting on women in the Bible and their lives, and what stood out to me was how easily they were judged. Not only judged, but condemned, mocked and ridiculed for their lack of judgment and the consequences they suffered.
What made it even more disturbing was that this was a discussion among what should have been seasoned Christian women.
Or so I thought.
It bothered me how easy it seemed to sit on this side of their stories, knowing how everything turned out, and judge the decisions they made.
Yes, perhaps these women made poor choices. Yes, there were consequences. God will not be mocked. But one woman in particular was condemned and judged even after I pointed out that it could have easily been one of us in her shoes. And if we’re honest, in these days, in some way, it has been.
Where was the compassion? Where was the empathy? I’d even venture to ask, where was the Truth? Had they never done anything wrong? All of it was totally missing from the conversation.
Something was wrong.
I believe that whenever we open the Bible, we should first ask the Lord to speak to us.
Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, able to penetrate deeply and discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
It’s able to cut through our mess. So the Word shouldn’t only reveal something about the person we’re reading about. It should reveal something about us.
Second, ask God to show you what He would have you to learn. Psalm 119:18 says:
“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.” In other words: Lord, don’t let me just read the story. Open my eyes. Show me what You want me to see.
And third, look for yourself in the story. That’s the one that got me. 1 Corinthians 10:6, 11–12 reminds us that what happened to those who came before us was written as examples and warnings for us. Then comes the caution: if we think we are standing firm, we need to be careful that we don’t fall. Don’t get so caught up looking at what they did that you miss what their story is supposed to show you. Their stories aren’t just there for us to look at them.
There is something there for us.
God has been teaching me that when I read these stories, I need to try and put myself in that person’s shoes. Because the Word is a mirror.
James 1:22–25 uses that very picture. It describes the person who hears the Word but doesn’t do what it says as someone who looks into a mirror, walks away and forgets what they saw.
So when I open the Word, I shouldn’t just be looking at everybody else. I ought to see something about myself.
The people in Scripture are not there for us to mock, ridicule or put down. They are there for us to learn from, so that their mistakes don’t have to become ours. And if we put ourselves in their shoes, perhaps we will have a little more understanding, a little less judgment and a little more compassion.
Instead of only asking, How could she do that? Maybe we begin asking: What would I have done? Could that have been me? Have I ever allowed fear, pressure, disappointment, desire, grief or circumstances to affect my judgment? Have I ever needed somebody to look at me with a little compassion? And perhaps most importantly: Have I ever needed grace? Or mercy?
I have a Women’s Tea coming up in May 2027, and the theme God has shared with me is “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall.” God has been speaking to me about this subject almost from the time the last Tea ended. He does that often, and usually as He does, He tells me when to share things about the theme. Though not like He usually does, and quite early, this fell right in.
Because, like I said, the Word of God is a mirror. And whenever we look into the Word, we should see ourselves.
Even when we’re reading about somebody else’s failure.
Even when we don’t understand their choices.
Even when we’re thinking, I would never have done that.
Before we become too comfortable pointing out what is wrong with the person in the story, perhaps we need to stay there long enough to look for ourselves in the story.
And if doing so doesn’t cause us to look at others with an open heart, with eyes of grace and a heart of compassion, perhaps we need to ask:
Who are we really?
And...
Who are we reflecting?
There truly is One fairer than all others.
And more and more, we need to look like Him, “sound” like Him and act like Him.
Because ultimately, when we look into that mirror, it’s not the one staring back at us that we should be trying to see.
It’s Him.
And He is still real.
And I am still,
the Lord's servant,
Sis. E and Joe's mom
www.butgodisreal.com
www.intheshadowofgrief.com
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