“Jesus treated people as they could be.”

A thought by Mark Batterson, (2015-10-06) from his book, If: Trading Your If Only Regrets for God's What If Possibilities (Kindle Location 1455). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

The total thought of Mark is, “The Pharisees treated people as they were. Jesus treated people as they could be. And that only makes sense. After all, no one knew their God-given potential like the One who gave it to them in the first place.”

Mark goes on, “Have you ever noticed how some of the nicknames Jesus gave to his disciples seemed like misnomers? Peter was impetuous, yet Jesus called him the Rock. James and John were mama’s boys, yet He called them the Sons of Thunder. They lived up to those nicknames. James would become the first of the disciples to be martyred. John would live the longest, penning both the Gospel that bears his name and the final book in the Bible, Revelation.”

What nicknames do you give your friends, your family? Do they build up or put down?

Mark then says, “What if Jesus had treated them as they were? I think they would have remained as they were. But Jesus saw who they could become and treated them as if.”

He continues, “I know it’s not easy to see past people’s problems, much less their personalities. But that’s what prophets do. Parents, if all you ever do is point out what your kids do wrong, you’ll probably see more of the same… Kids need more compliments than criticisms. So do adults!”

So do you treat those around you as they were or as they could be?

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