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Michaelah Colon

Michaelah Colon

About Michaelah Colon

Michaelah Colon is a worship leader at Open Arms Community Church, a High School Facilitator at Bradford Area Christian Academy, and Assistant Director at the Community Life Center in Bradford, PA. She is passionate about serving others, investing in the next generation, and living out her faith in everyday life. Michaelah lives with her husband, Wilfredo, and their daughter, Dorothy.

Posts by Michaelah Colon:

Holy Wednesday Judas betrayal and forgiveness

He Washed Judas’s Feet Too

The Heart Behind the Betrayal

On Holy Wednesday, we usually reflect on Judas’s betrayal of Jesus. But we often don’t think about how Jesus responded to that betrayal—or what sparked it.

There’s a lot we don’t know about Judas’s reasoning, but John’s Gospel gives us a little insight into Judas’s heart, as well as the heart of our Savior.

The story begins when Mary of Bethany, moved by devotion and gratitude to Jesus for raising her brother Lazarus, anoints Jesus’s feet. She sacrifices something of great worth—the expensive perfume, along with her reputation—to honor her Lord.

What Judas Saw… and Missed

But when Judas sees this, he doesn’t see devotion. He doesn’t see a servant honoring her King—he sees a woman wasting her dowry.

He focuses only on the monetary value and the temporary needs it could have met, without understanding the heart behind what Mary is doing.

Others may have thought Judas had honorable intentions. He even says:

“Why wasn’t this perfume sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”
— John 12:5

But John reveals Judas’s true heart in the very next verse:

“He didn’t say this because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the money bag and would steal part of what was put in it.”
— John 12:6

When Hurt Turns Into Betrayal

Judas, in his greed, likely felt betrayed by Jesus and wanted vengeance. Because of this, he makes up his mind to profit for himself—selling out his Rabbi for thirty pieces of silver.

He becomes so blinded by his hurt and his greed that he forsakes the One who has loved him and taught him for three years.

And Yet… Jesus Still Served Him

And yet, when the disciples gather the next day for Passover, Jesus still washes Judas’s feet.

He still shares the cup and the bread—His body and His blood—with Judas.

Jesus knows Judas will betray Him. He even hints at it to the other disciples, which leads to them arguing about who is the greatest and who might betray Him.

But Jesus still chose Judas.

He still called him. He still walked with him for three years. He still shared life with him. He treated him no differently than the others—even knowing what Judas would do.

And He died for Judas too.

What This Means for Us

Jesus does the same for us today.

He knows every choice we are going to make. He knows we will fall back into old sin patterns. He knows the ways we will fail and even betray others.

And yet… He still calls us.

He still says:

“I forgive you, my child, and I love you. Now go and sin no more.”

The only difference between us and Judas is what we do with that forgiveness.

Judas let the guilt consume him until he couldn’t take it anymore.

But what about us?

Will we let shame keep us stuck… or will we walk forward into the grace God is offering?

Michaelah Colon

Michaelah Colon

Michaelah Colon is a worship leader at Open Arms Community Church, a High School Facilitator at Bradford Area Christian Academy, and Assistant Director at the Community Life Center in Bradford, PA. She is passionate about serving others, investing in the next generation, and living out her faith in everyday life. Michaelah lives with her husband, Wilfredo, and their daughter, Dorothy.
lenten blog reflection

Let Love Bloom: Weeding out Bitterness

As soon as the temperature starts to rise at the beginning of March, I start planning my garden for the year. Spring is a time of preparation for me: clearing out the remnants of last year’s garden, pulling weeds, and starting my seeds so that I can have a beautiful crop of veggies in the summer. For the last two years, I have started to do some gardening with my little girl. I love teaching her how to plant the seeds, and seeing her excitement over every little earthworm or roly-poly she finds. I’ve also found my patience tested when she rubs her muddy hands all over my sliding glass door and dumps the whole seed packet on the ground, but spending that time with her is worth a little mess. 

Becoming a parent has given me an understanding of God’s heart that I doubt I ever would have had otherwise. To create someone who looks like you, love and protect them, teach them how to live rightly, and forgive them when they disobey–it makes me marvel at the thought that the Creator of the universe wanted to share even the intricacies of this relationship with us. 

If I can love this tiny human so much, with every fiber of my being, how much more does our Father, with his infinite, boundless love, care for me? My love as a mother is far from perfect; when my daughter throws things or hurts someone or lies to me, I can be so impatient. But God doesn’t lash out in anger. He doesn’t get overstimulated and irritated and yell. He stays, He waits, and he corrects us gently, even when we intentionally do things to hurt Him. 

Love Requires Forgiveness–Even When It Hurts. 

When I think of God’s patience and forgiveness, I remember how hard it was raising our foster daughter. She came to us at 11 years old after experiencing deep trauma in her early life. Because of what she had been through, trust didn’t come easily—especially with authority figures, and particularly with me.

As she moved into her teenage years, the pain she carried often came out in anger and conflict. Our home became a place where love, boundaries, and healing were all colliding at once. Many times I felt like the target of her hurt and confusion. I had hoped simply to be a mother to her, but instead I often felt rejected and overwhelmed.

Over time the weight of it all left me exhausted and wounded. When she eventually moved to live with another family member, I realized how closed off my heart had become. I felt like I had nothing left to give.

That summer, in the quiet, I sensed God speaking gently to my heart: How do you think I feel, child? This is only a glimpse of the ways my children have turned away from me. Yet I still love them. I still gave my life for them.

In that moment, God reminded me that forgiveness is not something we manufacture ourselves—it’s something He helps us choose. With His help, I began the slow work of releasing my bitterness and forgiving her.

Remembering His Sacrifice

During this season of Lent, we should  not only remember Christ’s sacrifice for us, but His loving forgiveness. As we remember how hard it has been for us to forgive others, we can consider Christ, in the garden, wrestling with the hurt and fear He felt, and choosing to pray for us instead. He chose to experience even more pain at our hands because no pain could overwhelm the love He had for us. 

Lent gives us an opportunity to make space in our hearts so we can fully experience and appreciate God’s sacrificial love. But bitterness not only takes up space, it keeps us from knowing and understanding God’s heart by experiencing some of what He did. Forgiving those who have sinned against us allows us to understand even just a portion of the joy He feels when He washes our sins away. 

So ask God today, “Who do I need to forgive?” Let go of that hurt, and submit your anger and resentment to Him. It may take time and continuous surrender, but He will faithfully pull out those bitter roots until they no longer grow back. And then finally, His love can bloom in you. 

Michaelah Colon

Michaelah Colon

Michaelah Colon is a worship leader at Open Arms Community Church, a High School Facilitator at Bradford Area Christian Academy, and Assistant Director at the Community Life Center in Bradford, PA. She is passionate about serving others, investing in the next generation, and living out her faith in everyday life. Michaelah lives with her husband, Wilfredo, and their daughter, Dorothy.