Become New with John Ortberg 24. The Fence They Couldn’t Get Over
Feb 27, 2026
A reflection on how a single moment can alter a life and why we often presume too much about others. Themes include the limits of judgment, the unseen stories that shape people, and the hope of unknown futures. Listeners are invited to trade contempt for curiosity and to bless those they are tempted to condemn.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Whistler's Bridge Loophole Story
- John Ortberg tells how James McNeill Whistler kept drawing boys into his bridge picture until the instructor demanded they be removed, then marked their graves instead.
- The story illustrates human creativity in finding loopholes and how we rationalize doing what we want despite commands.
We Don't Know What Formed People
- Psalm 103 reminds us God 'remembers' we are dust, so we don't know how people were formed or deformed by life.
- Ortberg emphasizes that not knowing someone's past prevents fair condemnation and invites curiosity instead.
The Fence That Changed Two Lives
- Ortberg recounts the film Angels with Dirty Faces where two boys steal pens, one clears a fence and becomes a priest while the other is caught and becomes a criminal.
- That single moment (failing to clear the fence) diverts lives into radically different trajectories.
