Walk A Mile In My Shoes

We don’t receive judgment very well from another unless we believe they understand what we are going through. Even as a parent disciplines their teenager, they hear, “But you don’t understand!” because the teen has forgotten that the parent was once a teen. Or the front office worker mutters under his or her breath as the vice-president walks away, “He has forgotten what it is like to be here. He sits back in his cushy office and doesn’t have to deal. with this stuff.”

The origin of the phrase, “Don’t judge until you have walked a mile in their shoes,” is unclear. It is credited to early Americans or Native Americans (walking a mile in their moccasins) in the reference materials. However, I believe the concept was there long before that. “Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.” John 5:22-23a.

Isn’t it interesting that God, the Father, who has every right to judge the world, has given that over to his Son! Why? Because the Son has walked a mile in our shoes. He was here in the flesh eating our food, drinking our water and wine, walking our dusty roads, dealing with difficult people, being persecuted by religious leaders, being subjugated to a political power that was unkind to him. There isn’t much we experience that he did not. There is nothing he cannot understand. We know we have a compassionate judge – one who has walked a mile in our shoes.

That brings me great comfort when I think about the end times and judgment day. What brings me even more comfort is knowing that because of Jesus and what he did while here on earth, I don’t need to fear judgment day. He already has taken my punishment for me and cleared me of all the things that made me unacceptable to be in the presence of a Holy God. I can walk with confidence as I walk before the judgment throne. Jesus will look at my account and say, “All clear. Welcome home.”