Prodigal: This must be a hippie van.

Me: Don’t judge, you never know who it belongs too.

Prodigal: That is true.

This is from the book Bold Love by Dr. Dan B. Allender & Dr. Tremper Longman III

A rigid definition implies that I am what I am and will always be that in the future. But the heart and soul of a person are not eternally enslaved to a particular direction or to certain symptoms. Change can occur to a point where it can be said of the thief, the gossip, or the adulterer, “That is what some of you were” (1 Corinthians 6:11). Sufficient change can occur that invalidates the label. For that reason, I am never to judge you. I may assess your current condition and offer a tentative hypothesis, “You appear to be a fool,” but I am never to say, “You are and will always be a fool.” That statement is the dictum of a judge who has passed a final, unchangeable verdict. It is imperative never to feel certain or resolute about our opinion. We must remain open to seeing the facts from a new perspective and equally open to the possibility that our perception is distorted by the log in our own eye.

Mark 12:33

And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org