To understand this properly in the context of the war
between good and evil, we need to focus on the terms. Judgment is the decision making process
regarding the ‘fate’ or ultimate disposition of the person in question. It is different than Sentencing where the
appropriate punishment for the crime is declared. Execution of the punishment occurs at a
defined time and date. If God the Father
is our judge, then who are the other players in this courtroom drama? First of all, that would leave us, as the
accused. Satan has accused us with all
the ‘evil’ choices we have made throughout our lives. He, as our prosecutor, rightly points out all
the bad things we have done. No need to
lie here, we all have guilt on our
hands. In any case, the Judge is fully
capable of seeing right through a lie, so there will only be truth in this
cosmic courtroom. Our attorney, or our
advocate, is God in the form of the Son, Jesus Christ. While He can plead our case for us, He also
knows we are guilty. We cannot lie to
Him, nor will He lie to His Father. So
what hope is there for us to get off the hook, none. We are judged guilty. Our sentence is death. But then something miraculous occurs before
its execution. Our Lawyer, volunteers to
take our place in the sentencing.
Instead of us dying for our crimes, pure and innocent blood will be shed
instead. In order for this to take
place, we must accept the sacrifice. We
must allow it. This is the picture of
our judgment.
Being held accountable for our sins has already taken
place. There is no chance of
beating-the-rap. We are in fact guilty
of evil choices, evil actions, and evil intentions. And justice must be satisfied. This is why our God, became our savior, and
died the death we were sentenced to.
Judgment therefore for those who embrace this wonderful gift of God is
completed. The sentence for us has
already been carried out. Our penalty has been commuted,
as Christ paid the cost for us. We do
NOT have to fear a coming judgment of our evil deeds. We do NOT have to fear there is a chance we
will be lost based solely on whether we were a ‘good’ person or a ‘bad’
person. We are all ‘bad’ people. Our salvation was given to us, as we would
never deserve it.
The concept of standing in the judgment and facing a litany
of misdeeds would leave us all without hope, if not for the plan God enacted
for our salvation. So what about those
who choose not to embrace the gift of hope?
What about those dedicated folks who consistently reject the concept of
a God, and deny their own need of salvation?
Their deeds are judged the same as our own. We
are ALL guilty. But when
it comes to sentencing, they do not accept the payment of our savior. And so they will die the death they have
earned. Not tortured forever, as we
talked about before in our discussion regarding Hell. Rather, they will be burned up, and will
exist no more, forever sleep without dreams.
This is not a case of fair versus unfair. It is a question of stupidity. To embrace evil so firmly as to insure your
own misery and ultimate death is a mystery even God has a hard time
understanding. This is especially true,
given how easy it is to embrace His alternative.
But despite the fact that we who accept the gift are ALL
saved from evil, no matter what our circumstances; Christians have notoriously
engaged in judging the conduct of others.
This is in fact, a form of blasphemy (taking on a role for which God
alone is qualified). Christians judge
that the sins of someone else require their immediate intervention. Well meaning people, who claim the name of
God in their title (Christians), believe they have a responsibility to confront
the evil in others (while plainly ignoring the evil in themselves). They give God such a horrible name in this
process. And as always, evil markets
this idea very well, with wonderful names and concepts like – ‘calling sin by
its right name’, or ‘not allowing pearls to be thrown before swine’, or
‘helping someone else see their evil so they can abandon it’. Were these well meaning Christians to look
into a mirror they would find a lifetime’s worth of work for them to do to
themselves. But instead, they choose to focus on the
evil of others, rather than address their own very acute needs.
The obvious implication of this premise of us judging each
other, is that we are somehow better than someone else. This is wholly untrue. There is no standard of better or worse until
you measure yourself against the perfect life of Christ. Just because your ‘sins’ (or choices to
embrace evil), seem to be less catastrophic than someone else, does not make
them any less severe. Keep in mind, the
first sin, was pride. It was not rape, murder, or assault. It was simply changing the focus of your life
from serving others to serving self.
That little alteration led to ALL of the evil you witness in the world
today. And pride is so hard to see,
either in the mirror, or in someone else.
There is no comparative level of evil that we are free to judge. And often what we believe to be a ‘sin’ is a
pure matter of our opinion, not necessarily that of God.
Judging therefore becomes dangerous, and completely
counterproductive when humans are involved.
Who do you know that has ever responded positively to a negative
confrontation regarding their character?
How does telling someone they are ‘sinning’ inspire them to make a
positive change in their lives? They are
more likely to tell you where to go, than to address your ‘concern’. But if you were to leave judging someone
else, or condemning someone else, completely out of your words, and attitudes:
if you were to embrace and accept someone else no matter where they are: if you bought in to the idea that you are
peers with others, not their superior: and if you just illuminated the
alternative choice of good – might that be enough to spark a change. People
respond to love, they avoid condemnation. People move forward when they are embraced,
they shy away from ridicule. A true
Christian will love everyone they encounter, not because they are perfect, not
because they deserve it, but because of the effect Christ has on the
Christian. Being connected with the
source of all love, makes it easy to love.
Knowing how much we have been forgiven, makes it easier for us to
forgive. And knowing how much we
struggle to get rid of the evil that infects us, we don’t have time to condemn
anyone else for their struggle. Instead,
we pray for each other. Instead we call
out to our Creator God, to save us from ourselves, and our horrible
choices. This is our state of affairs.
There will come a time, when all of us who accepted God’s
gift of salvation sit in Heaven. The
books of record of everyone who has ever lived will be opened to us. We will see each one’s life, their entire
thoughts, and their entire list of deeds.
The records of those who have been saved will simply read – forgiven by
Christ, washed in His blood. Those who
did not choose to accept this gift, will have every detail available to
us. This step must be taken in order
that all of our questions will be answered.
Why isn’t so-and-so who we cared about here with us? We will be able to open the book of records
of their lives, and see the repeated attempts
of God to reach out to them. We will see
a record of God trying His best to save so-and-so, but constantly being
rejected and told ‘no.’ Then it will hit
us. Like a ton of bricks, the weight of
our own guilt will come crashing down on us.
We will realize, that perhaps our own evil deeds, contributed to
so-and-so not being with us in Paradise restored. If we had just behaved better. If we had just loved a little more. If we had just been a little less condemning
a little more concerned. We might have
made the difference, but we chose not to.
We chose complacency, and self-interest over the needs of another, and
thereby denied God the chance to use us to reach our friend or loved one. At this our hearts will break. We will weep for the loss of the one we
miss. We will weep that it is also our
fault. And it will take God Himself, to
wipe away our tears, to teach us to forgive ourselves. Here is the only future judgment we have to
fear, it is our own judgment of ourselves.
Let us take from this the lesson, to love more now. Not to choose to be complacent in the lives
of others, but to make a meaningful difference by choosing
to love them. Let us allow
God to reach others through the love we show to them. God is absent in our condemnations of others,
but He lives in our efforts to love them right where they are. Let us avoid the heartbreak of knowing we did
too little, and rather embrace the joy of knowing we will share all eternity
with those we love – through the power of love.
For you see this is the power of God, His love. This is the basis for the entire system of
government in the undefiled universe, a system based on love for others. It existed before we did, and will exist with
us as a part of it, long after the ultimate destruction of evil. Let us learn to embrace it right now. This is what we have been saved for. To begin to know the power of love in our
lives, and the power of love reaching out to others through us right away. Nothing can resist it. This is true power, to love…
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