[This reflection by Helen Ruffhead was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 26/Jul/2026]
For the last 3 months I have been trying to sell my house, having found a retirement flat that was just right for me. Naively I thought it would sell easily, being a relatively cheap 3-bedroom house, with a garage, great location and in a good state of repair. Instead nearly twenty viewers have rejected it, some for valid reasons like the size of the rooms, but others because they disliked the old-fashioned décor. The estate agent even suggested that I should change the Thomas the Tank Engine lampshade in Michael’s room.
It is not just houses which are rejected on superficial appearance. Long ago, a friend tried to pair me off with a male friend who she thought would be just right for me, but he told her that he had never been able to fancy a woman who wore glasses, despite wearing them himself. Fortunately I didn’t care for him either, although for less superficial reasons.
So often we can form judgements about people based on silly things like their weight, the way they dress, or even their skin colour.
Jesus was judged because the religious leaders were so obsessed with their petty rules that they missed the bigger picture. In John 5 we read about the man whom Jesus healed after 38 years of disability. The Pharisees challenged the man for carrying his mat on the Sabbath, but he replied that Jesus had told him to pick up his mat and walk when he healed him.
Instead of praising God for the miracle, they focussed on the supposed breach of the Sabbath rules and persecuted Jesus. When Jesus later healed a blind man on the Sabbath they called Jesus a sinner. The blind man’s response was: “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” (John 9 v25).
Jesus said: “Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.” John 7 v24.
1 Samuel 16 v 7 says: “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
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Last Sunday’s reflection: Holy Days by Martin Shorey
Contributed by Helen Ruffhead; © Helen Ruffhead