One Moment

Having lived in Pennsylvania for 4 years it was not hard to understand the outpouring of strong emotions that surrounded the firing and death of Joe Paterno. Regardless of where you stand on the issue one fact cannot be disputed. For 60 years he dedicated his life to preparing men for theirs. Whether that was on the football field, the board room or being a dad, he expected excellence from their lives. Sadly, for some, his life will only be defined by one moment.

There are many who the public remembers for their one moment Pete Rose, Tonya Harding, Martha Stewart, Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggert. Though these individuals have moved beyond their infamous moments, when their names come up they are remembered only for their moments of poor judgment. Everything else in their lives are overshadowed.

We often do the same thing to those around us. While we love the testimony of the ex-gang member who was in prison for murder, who found Christ and is now and evangelist, we tend to look at the lives of those we consider “good” people and remember them only for their lapse in judgment.

Psalms 130:3 “If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand?” The Creator of heaven and earth, who sent His own Son to die in our place, keeps no records of our wrongs, but we can’t seem to forget. We refer to each other as the girl who got into trouble, the man who cheated on his wife, the executive who stole from his company or the woman who lies.

Our moments should not define us. Each of us should view others in the light of grace. One of my favorite gospel songs says:

I'm just a sinner saved by grace
When I stood condemned to death

He took my place

Now I live and breathe in freedom with each breath of life I take
Loved and forgiven
Back with the living
I'm just a sinner saved by grace.

In my own life there are many moments I hope go completely undetected by others. Moments of anger, hatred, jealousy, rage. When these moments come I find myself deeply ashamed. Yet, even if no one on earth sees these moments my Savior does. 

He does not define my life by these moments so how can I define others by theirs?