Everybody has a reputation. When someone mentions your name, an image automatically springs into the minds of those who know you. Perhaps people cringe and shudder when they hear your name because they think of you as cruel or deceitful. Perhaps they grin or chuckle because you are known for your easy-going nature and your practical jokes. Or, perhaps they smile fondly because they think of you as a caring and helpful person. Yes, whether good or bad, whether we like it or not, all of us have a reputation – even if people merely think of us as an insignificant non-entity.
The real question is whether our reputation is accurate. Am I really the kind of person people think I am? Some people deliberately show a false face to the world. In other cases, people have misjudged us or misinterpreted what they saw and given us an undeserved label – whether good or bad. God looks through people’s perceptions and sees the reality. For example, Jesus told a church, “…I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” (Revelation 3:1 NIV) On the other hand, how encouraging it must have been when Jesus said of Nathanael, “…Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.” (John 1:47 NIV)
The reason that God has an accurate evaluation of us in spite of our reputation is that, “…The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7 NIV) To those who try to deceive others about who and what they really are, this is very frightening. But it can also be very reassuring. The good news is that even if other people have misjudged us and unfairly blackened our reputation, the Lord knows the truth. We can take comfort in the fact that He will not judge us based on other people’s opinions.
Even better news is that we do not have to remain the same person as we are now. If we have earned a bad reputation we can change. Christ not only takes away sin, He changes us into a different person. He gives us His own character. The Apostle Paul writes to the followers of Christ at Corinth, “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 NIV)
What kind of reputation do you have? Is it deserved? Have you let Christ change you for the better?