2024-10-11
Good Morning Dear Ones,
There are additional reasons why people judge one another in addition to the ones not knowing the whole truth, the temptation to usurp God’s rights, giving already given—hypocrisy, undue criticism, causing God to criticize harshly, giving in to the desires of the flesh, and contempt for God’s patience. We can cause God to judge us more harshly too. MT 7: 1-2, “Do not judge or you too will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” This suggests that the degree of mercy or lack thereof that a person judging this way uses is what God will apply to you. MT 7: 3-5 uses the metaphor of a hypocrite being concerned about the speck in another’s eye while ignoring the log in his eye. Vs. 5 tells us to first take the speck out of our eye before judging another person. JAS 4: 12, puts the truth of God’s perspective right before us: “There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One Who saves and destroys. But you, who are you to judge your neighbor?” Believe me, those capital letters were no accident. We must remember Who was given authority to judge back in DN 7:13-14, We must stand on 1 JN 1: 5, “This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.” In simple words, only God is righteous all of the time. Having written that, we must understand that His purposes are always noble in any judgments He makes.
Right after Christ had told a group of Pharisees who accused a young girl of sin threatening to stone her, our Lord said, “Let he who has not sinned throw the first stone” [JN 8:7]. He found Himself in a dispute with the over His testimony. When Jesus spoke again, He said, “I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” When the Pharisees challenged Him, Jesus said, “Even though I testify on My own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. You judge by human standards, for I judge no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with My Father, Who sent Me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. I am One Who testifies for Myself; My other witness is My Father Who sent Me.” [JN 8: 12-18]. There is no valid refuting our Lord’s logic.
David repeatedly showed that he was wise enough to know that God was the best One to judge him. Remember, when the prophet, Gad, told David God was giving him three choices of punishment after taking the census, David chose the only one that God Himself would direct and control [2 SAM 24: 14]. He knew God’s mercy was far greater than that of humans. We need to understand that God sometimes delays action out of patience and kindness. His selection of when to act is always perfect—to maximize what we need to know and act with greatest compassion. Sudden judgment strangles patience and kindness at times. Such action grieves the Holy Spirit.
In the “Rooted” course my entire congregation is taking at present we are often asked to write a prayer about the subject at hand. I am asking each of you to do that now about making snap judgments. I will do this too.
PRAYER: O Lord, like many others of Your human creation, I can make snap judgments. It is a bad habit that many of us have. The reason to get rid of this habit has been told to us in Scripture. RO 9: 20-21, “But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to the One Who formed it, ‘Why did You make me like this?’ Does not the Potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?’” We should understand from IS 64: 8, “Yet You, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, You are the Potter; we are the work of Your hand.” Many of us don’t realize we are usurping Your right as Creator to decide Who has the right to judge others. We ask You for Your help in overcoming prejudicial human upbringing, having the patience to take the time to get the whole truth, and not allowing our emotions to drive our opinions. Help us, Dear Father, to avoid making snap judgments, for seeking justice, for having compassion and fairness, and to not usurp Your right to be the final Judge. We know that if we can do these things, we will save ourselves and others a lot of pain and embarrassment. Father, we thank You for hearing our prayers and loving us the way You do. We offer Your praise and thanks for being here for us in our times of need. In the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: The Holy Spirit commands me to write about how mercy fits into this construct of patience and humility. Our relationship with God is truly the most important thing in our lives! It takes people a long time really understand how much our God loves us and how often we disappoint Him, even to the point of hurting His feelings. When we think eternally, we have a much easier time accepting our subordinate place in our relationship with Him coupled with His goodness and mercy. We need to consider the eternal consequences of our thoughts, decisions, and actions. Nothing escapes God’s notice, surely not motives and agendas we think are hidden [HE 4: 12-13]. God doesn’t hover over us like a dragon ready to vanquish its prey in a rain of its fire. Instead, God is patient and kind, hoping the time He gives us to repent of our sinfulness will be enough to bring us into the blessings of faith in His Son, Jesus Christ [2 PET 3: 9]. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn, JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2024. All Rights Reserved
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