When "No" is Actually "Not Yet" ...

I am reminded this week that not all answers to my prayers are the ones I asked for.  It seems recently I am told “No” in response to many of my requests.  So many in fact, it is disheartening.  My daughter asked me for prayers on Thursday for her father-in-law.  I prayed.  But on Friday, she let me know that while her husband was yet in travel to see his father, he passed away.  This hurts.  Bad enough, that he was not healed.  But worse, that this exact same scenario happened with her husband’s grandfather earlier this year.  Requests for prayer, followed by death while still in transit to see him.  My adopted son (son-in-law is a term too little for how much our family loves him) has lost both his grandfather and father in the same year, with no good-byes, after requests for prayer which were given.  And there is no way to fix this, is there?  What comfort and love my daughter now offers her husband will never be more important than it is today.  What comfort he can offer his own mother, and grandmother (who lost both a husband and a son as well), will also never be more important than it is today.  Sometimes people think that when prayers are offered by “righteous” men they will be heard.  I guess you can figure where that puts me on the righteous scale then.  But I believe that Jesus hears the broken as much as He hears those who think themselves whole.  Answers however, are not always what we want, at least seen through the prism of this world’s lens.

But sometimes, where I hear a resounding “no”.  That is not actually what God is saying.  My “no” is merely God’s “not yet”.  I have personal experience with this.  Once before a long time ago, I prayed for a job with a particular division of Lockheed Martin.  I did not get it.  Answer looked like “no” to me.  But then, I was referred to a different division of Lockheed where I did get not only a job, but with more pay, and faster career progression than anyone could have imagined.  At a time in retrospect, where the division I originally applied for was laying off employees to the tune of nearly 1/3 of its work force.  So while my friends were being downsized, I was being promoted, over and over again.  Who but God could have opened the one door, while closing the other.  More recently, I continue to pray for my dog Layla.  She has inoperable cancer, but she still lives.  I do not know for how much longer, but today is a gift, and her lack of pain today, a greater gift still.  I hold out hope for her cure, but given the losses in our family, it is hard to hope for a dog, when the people seem not to last.  But my feelings, do not change my history, or today’s gift, or my continued hope in God’s mercy in the here and now.

I can only imagine the pain of a mother who loses a son.  I have not ever been exposed to such pain.  Worse, if it is her only son.  But this scenario did not originate with my family this year.  Luke writes about another such woman, who lost her husband, making her a widow.  But then tragedy struck again and she lost her only son.  In those days in Israel this would likely leave her destitute as well.  The story picks up in chapter seven of his gospel letter to Theophilus regarding what we believe and why.  He starts in verse 11 saying … “And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. [verse 12] Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.”  This was a sad story.  And I am certain this woman did not lose her husband or her son without praying not to lose them.  Who knows if she was able to say goodbye or if death came and interrupted, like it usually does.

We go about our lives as if we were somehow guaranteed to have them.  But the truth is, our collective clocks tick on, at some point hitting that annoying buzzer that time is up.  At that moment, it does not matter if we were in a plane on the way to say goodbye.  We fell short.  It does not matter what was in our hearts for that person, the love we wanted to express.  They will no longer hear it.  At least not now.  The pain of this widow was shared by the town she lived in.  They stood by her in the funeral.  I hope the people in the Philippines where Sean’s wounded grandmother resides has the company of those she has gone to minister to, with her now in her time of need.  I hope they comfort his mother as well.  I hope his presence there softens the blow of so hard a loss.  But I understand why weeping is likely to be heard.  And I understand why it is hard to know an answer from God like “no”, when we know He is capable of miraculous other responses.  I would bet this woman of Luke’s day could equate.  But the story continues.

Luke continues in verse 13 saying … “And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.”  And here is where I hear the voice of the Lord in the ears of my family.  What we have perceived as a “no” is only a “not yet”.  We asked for healing.  One is coming.  We asked for a lack of pain.  Pain is to be no more.  We asked not to die.  We are to never experience or fear the shadow of death ever again.  And so our Lord says to us all, weep not.  In 2019, we lost someone, but at His second coming we will get them back.  And we will lose them, nevermore.  I am sure Theophilus had some idea of this in his day, just as you and I understand it in ours.  But this story was not a theoretical one.  This was a literal one.  Our Lord is not without compassion.  And His solution is life.

Luke continues in verse 14 saying … “And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. [verse 15] And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.”  This is prelude.  This is the example story of what His second coming will look like for millions of people.  Jesus did not yank this poor son out of the bliss of heaven to return him to a world of sin once again.  No.  Instead Jesus simply woke this son up from the sleep of death, the same way Jesus will one day wake us all up from the sleep of death, to be reunited with our families, and our Lord.  This was kindness to both people, mother and son.  This was a declaration to me and my family that this “no” was really only a “not yet”.  And here is the prototype for what that coming day will look like once again, only better still.

The response of the people was somewhat less than I would have expected., imaging myself in the same situation.  Luke continues in verse 16 saying … “And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people. [verse 17] And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about.”  To return death to life is something only God can do.  Hard for that widow to imagine Jesus as anything other than God Himself in the form of His Son.  As for the dead son returned to life, he must have been confused to see this was not the final resurrection, only a temporary one.  Again, the answer was not “no” it was simply “not yet”.  But do you imagine that returned son had any doubt in his mind what the end of time would look like once again, only better.  That son had been through it once.  He had tasted the sleep of death and had been awoken from it.

My daughter and my adopted son can take hope in this.  Every one of us who looked like we got a “no”, maybe even a series of “no’s” can take hope in this.  I await the day when His compassion delivers me to my mother and father, my children to me and my wife, and all of us to the lap of His Father – to know a love we have never been able to fathom.  My family here is blessed with those who have chosen to be a part of it by choice, and so it expands.  Our family there will know this same phenomenon.  And every “not yet” will melt away as Jesus says it is finally time now.  What begins then ends all disappointment.  And the love that looks out for us beyond the scope of this world, will make clear why God’s timeline was different than our own.  And once we see it, we will confess we would never have chosen otherwise than what God has done for each of us – even if it looked like “no” in the here and now.  In the meantime, I will push my sadness and grief deeper into His compassion.  Like a two-year-old who has no other place to go than to a Dad whose answer they do not fully understand.  Trusting in His compassion, and His eternal love.  I yearn for the day when “not yet” turns to “welcome home”.

 

Three Witnesses and You ...

Your ideas, your perspective influenced by your own history, give you a unique take on any story you may become familiar with.  The core elements of the story may be the same.  But what you pay attention to, the things that are important to you, or that you zero-in-on during the revelation of the story – well those come from who you are, and what matters to you.  You notice subtle things that might have gone un-noticed by others.  Again, the core elements of the story being the same for everyone.  Your unique perspective of the story is something to cherish.  It does not belittle the story, it rather amplifies it.  And sharing your perspective with others, you are bound to pick up new things, that they paid more attention to, that may have slipped by you.  A sharing of perspectives then, adds to the wealth of the story, without tearing down the core elements of it.  This is what is meant by the phrase “the body of Christ” as it refers to His church.  We all have different strengths and weaknesses.  We all have different perspectives.  Jesus is the same.  But what we see in Jesus, is often a function of what we are looking for, and how Jesus uniquely helps each of us.  Jesus is still True.  But how we see Jesus may differ widely, because the difference between you and me may also be a wide one.

Unbelievers will sometimes take our differences in perspective as reason to say Jesus is not true at all.  But that is like saying that a story reported by CNN, MSNBC, and FOX must also not be true at all because those networks come from different perspectives and often report widely different conclusions based on the same set of facts (the story itself).  That is ridiculous.  We all know there is a story out there.  And in the case of our news networks, we tend to have one we prefer, and one we do not.  We tend to side with the network we prefer more, and take the one we don’t with a grain of salt.  The story is there, the set of facts is out there, but how it is reported, and how it is received is more a function of who we listen to, and what we believe to be true.  I would bet, that if you personally were exposed to the entire core set of facts about a given story, you would see some elements of it reported by CNN, different ones by MSNBC, and still others reported by FOX.  None of the networks are lying per se, but their perspectives will certainly alter what conclusions they draw; and therefore what they would like you to draw with them.  But the Truth is bigger than CNN, bigger than MSNBC, and bigger than FOX.  And in the case of Jesus Christ, way bigger than all our news networks, and way bigger than us.

So given this, I would like to focus on a story recorded in three gospels.  You will hear it from three different authors, that is three different witnesses.  The core elements of the story are the same.  But how it is reported is different.  Perspectives of the authors were different.  And to be fair, what you or I pay attention to is likely to be different still.  These differences in scripture are not proof that the Bible cannot be true.  Far from it.  Instead they prove the reality of the Bible in reporting a story where the core elements are true, but the three authors were not copying each other, or lying, that any story like this took place in the first place.  They simply come at it from three different perspectives.  And you or I, the readers, are likely to gain different insights because what Jesus means to us, will likely cause us to focus on a unique insight from the same story in the first place.

The core elements are these.  A person who is mighty, and valued, and important has a need.  The influential person is not a Jew.  This person knows someone he loves who is sick and he needs Jesus to heal him.  The influential person does not feel worthy enough to have Jesus come under his roof.  So he asks Jesus to simply speak the words and the one he loves is healed and made whole.  This example of faith in Jesus by someone who is NOT a Jew, is an example of faith in peoples like ourselves of a future much different than the past.  If you have been a Christian for some length of time, you will likely recognize some version of this story from the New Testament.  Some folks call this a “Centurion’s Great Faith”.  Others might call this “Jesus Heals an Official’s Son”.  But even these titles are examples of perspectives.  While we take a second look at this story try to keep an open mind to absorb an even greater understanding of the story from 3 different witnesses.  The scriptures can be found in Luke 7:1-10 … Matthew 8:5-13 … and John 4:43-54.

Backstory:  

o   Matthew - records this incident right after a healing of a leper.  He then puts Jesus simply entering Capernaum. 

o   Luke - records this incident right after the greatest sermon ever preached.  He then puts Jesus simply entering Capernaum. 

o   John - records this incident right after an unpleasant greeting in His home country.  But John adds that Jesus attended a feast in Jerusalem, then travels to Cana (where Jesus had previously turned water into wine).

 

Protagonist: 

o   Matthew - identifies the influential person as a Roman Centurion and offers no more than that.  Matthew records the encounter as a one-on-one with Jesus.

o   Luke - identifies the influential person as a Roman Centurion.  Luke differs from a one-on-one encounter, saying that the Centurion sought out the elders of the Jews to go to Jesus to ask Him for the healing.  Luke adds that the Jews did this, because the Roman was responsible for building a Synagogue in their area for them to worship in, and they believed the Roman loved their nation.  Luke continues that on hearing this Jesus begins to make His way towards the Roman Centurion’s home. 

o   John - identifies the influential person as only a Nobleman.  John does not seem to see anything noticeably Roman about this person at all, and he too records a one-on-one encounter between himself and Jesus.

 

Victim: 

o   Matthew – identifies the victim as a servant of the Centurion who is sick of the palsy and grievously tormented. 

o   Luke – identifies the victim as a servant who was dear to him, but sick and ready to die. 

o   John – identifies the victim as a son of the Nobleman who was sick and at the point of death.

 

The Request: 

o   Matthew – records the interaction by the Roman stating his own unworthiness for Jesus to enter under his roof.  The Roman states that he has men under his own command, that obey his orders and do what he says.  He asks Jesus to merely give orders for his servant to be healed and he will be.

o   Luke – records that since Jesus was traveling to the Centurions house after the elder’s first encounter, the Centurion sends friends out next to tell Jesus not to trouble Himself.  For the Roman is not worthy to have Jesus enter under his roof, nor was the Roman worthy of coming to Jesus himself to ask this.  It is at this point that like Matthew’s version, the Roman’s message through his friends is the same about giving orders and they will be obeyed.

o   John – records the Nobleman coming to Jesus in person asking Him to heal his son.  However in John’s version the Nobleman is requesting for Jesus to come heal his son in person.

 

The Response: 

o   Matthew – records Jesus marveling at the Roman’s faith.  Jesus says about it “Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great a faith, no, not in Israel.  And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.  But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  Then Jesus tells the Centurion to go his way, as he has believed, so be it done unto thee.

o   Luke – records Jesus marveling at the Roman’s faith.  Jesus says to the people following …”I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” 

o   John – records the incident differently, he has Jesus saying “Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.”  But Jesus tells the Nobleman to go his way. For his son liveth.

 

The Results: 

o   Matthew – records the servant was healed in the self-same hour. 

o   Luke – records the friends of the Centurion returning to find the servant whole who had been sick. 

o   John – records the Nobleman returning to a healed son.  He then asks the servants about what time did the son begin to heal (what hour).  They tell him it was about the seventh hour of the day.  This act converts not only the Nobleman, but his entire household.  And John records it as the second Miracle that Jesus did in Galilee.

 

There are some subtle and some distinct differences in these 3 versions of the same story in the life of Jesus and the life of this influential person.  First it is possible that a Roman Centurion was also a Nobleman with some degree of wealth and influence so perhaps that is less of a difference than first thought.  Luke adds the context of having this Roman building a Synagogue for the people.  Next it is possible that the victim was either a son, or a servant loved as much as a son might be.  So again, perhaps less of a difference.  Whether the Roman personally interacted with Jesus as Matthew and John state, or whether he sent emissaries to interact with Jesus on his behalf; what is common is a great feeling of unworthiness on his part.  Luke extends this unworthiness not to even encounter Jesus personally.  In all three cases, this man of influence realized his wealth did not make him a saint.  Perhaps it only added to his own unworthiness.   What is also common among all three stories is that Jesus need only speak the words to have the servant/son healed and he was.   

Matthew reminds his audience (the Hebrews) that they will not be alone in the kingdom of heaven.  There will be many of us there from the east and west as well.  Jesus reminds his audience in both Matthew and Luke that this faith was very great, and it did not come from a Hebrew.  John uses this incident to remind his audience (the Greeks) that entire households were converted from a single encounter with Jesus.  Not just the poor and desperate, but the wealthy and influential as well.  The core elements of the story remain largely the same.  You have heard the story from the perspective of three different witnesses.  But what about you?  What does this story say to you?  What do you get out of it?

For me, it tells me of faith coming from unexpected places, from a people or person, I might have otherwise thought would never be even interested in Jesus, let alone have so much faith in Him.  Keep in mind Romans were hated in their day, with reason.  Yet here is one in perfect submission to Jesus Christ.  This story also tells me that birthright (that is, being raised in the church) is not the same thing as a living faith that grows everyday.  This was a Centurion who had this faith, not a Rabbi, not even a disciple.  This story reminds me that as close as we get to Jesus, the more unworthy our assessment of ourselves becomes.  As we see His perfection, we begin to see our own unworthiness more clearly.  It is easy for me to generalize and think of myself as a good person.  But when I see through the mirror of Jesus, I realize I am not worthy of His forgiveness or His love.  Yet He offers me both anyway.  I realize too, there are too many things in my home that might keep a perfect God out, and worse, too many things in my heart that do the same.  This Roman Centurion seemed to understand this truth better than I do.

I so appreciate having the perspectives of these three witnesses on this incident.  I love the additional context each of them offer.  It renews my faith in scripture, and adds to the beauty of my Lord.  I hope when you read your Bible, you always do it through the lens of Jesus Christ, and through that lens find the love God offers you, and me, everyday.

  

When Judges Die ...

Torrential rains, and Cat 5 hurricanes, cause unprecedented damage in our world today.  To those in harm’s way it hardly matters whether the cause is man-made or random nature’s fury – it only matters that the fury is bearing down on you.  For any who have experienced a tornado it is terrifying.  A Cat 5 hurricane is like enduring a 5-hour tornado, with a bunch of flooding thrown in for good measure.  That kind of fury does not care who you are.  It does not care what you do for a living.  A supreme court judge is no different than an appellate court judge is no different than a county court judge is no different than an amateur judge on the sofa.  The nation notices when a supreme court judge dies.  So far, I don’t believe we have lost one to a hurricane.  The odds of losing an appellate court judge to a tragedy of nature go up simply because there are more of them.  But losing an amateur judge, the kind that sit on the sofa and render out verdicts all day long on one matter or another; well it is certain we have lost those types to storms.  Those kind of judges are you, and me.  And the judging we do is not a service to our nation or communities.  It is usually only an unsolicited (and unwanted) pronouncement of our opinions over the lives of each other.  Nothing gained by those pronouncements, but surely much is lost by them.

And in this matter, we are all equally guilty.  For all of us have sat in judgement of others over one thing or another.  We have assessed the motives of others as well as their actions.  We have condemned those we thought guilty of their various crimes, or neglect and omissions, or general misdemeanors.  When the TV relays the stories of politicians, we judge what they do and say as being part of criminal activity when those words or actions do not fit what we believe to be right (or in our best interest).  When the news keeps tabs on high profile court cases we are quick to offer our judicial assessments of what verdict “should” happen, no matter what actually does happen.  And we are also quick to dismiss the results of actual justice in our country if that justice does not concur with what we believe to be true.  Many of us believe Casey Anthony, George Zimmerman, and OJ Simpson – to be guilty – no matter what the court systems were able to prove.  Our racial biases may influence our positions on those three; White, Hispanic, or Black we believe to be guilty.  But it is hard to find someone in the US, who is willing to accept a “not guilty” verdict for all three of them.  But our entire American justice system is built on doing just that.  And our entire Christian religion requires much more of us than mere acceptance of a not-guilty verdict.

Our judgment is often quick, and in error.  Michael Brown of Ferguson Missouri became the poster child for the Black Lives Matter movement.  His death was a tragedy.  It was a failure of our society on many levels.  And when black men die at the hands of the police, it is understandable how trends can be drawn, and patterns adopted – even if statistics do not bear that out.  But no matter how you feel about the Black Lives Matter movement, or about racial bias in police departments at large, Michael Brown was the single most person responsible for the tragedy of that day.  The investigations conducted by the US Justice Department Civil Rights division, the FBI, as well state and local police departments all came to that same conclusion.  Not all of those agencies had the same goals or agenda during their investigations.  The nation was clambering for action to be taken against the policemen involved.  The press reported this incident on the hour.  And Mike’s name is still listed with reverence when discussing victims used to inspire the Black Lives Matter movement.  But the case on this, the specific case on this incident, found only that the tragedy that ensued happened because of the actions Mike took during the incident.  There were no charges brought against the policemen, because none of the agencies who investigated it found wrong doing on the part of the policemen involved.  And our nation, meaning most of us, have yet to accept that finding of our justice system.  Does that mean every case is wrong, No.  But does that mean, every case is guilty, No, it can’t mean that either.  There will never be a 100% clear cut answer.  There will only ever be tragedies, and failures of our society, failures of our people, that lead to sadness that lingers on well after the incident is over.  And what we judge to be true influences our hearts more than anything else.

And so we are asked not to judge at all.  Not at all.  And for many of us this seems impossible.  Judging is a core part of who we are, or rather, who we have chosen to become.  And this is not a new phenomenon.  It transcends humanity across time.  Theophilus and Luke faced this problem in their day.  Jesus faced it in His.  It is what killed Him.  It is what would kill so many of the followers of Jesus.  As it still does today.  Not the judgment of others rendered upon Christians (that is only a minority given the population of Christians across the planet even though it continues to take place).  It is the judgment we render on each other, that continues to destroy Christian hearts, and adds only to the tragedies of this world.  Nothing gained by our judgment of each other, but surely much is lost by the practice we are forbidden to engage in, yet somehow refuse to give up.  Luke zeroes in on this issue in the Christian church as he continues in the sixth chapter of his gospel, picking up in the greatest sermon ever preached.  Told by Jesus Himself to His followers, as relevant then, as it is today.

Luke picks up in verse 37 saying … “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:”  In this single verse Jesus contrasts what we do, myself included, with what He wants.  We are not to judge each other.  Not in matters of motives.  Not in matters of action.  Not even in matters of sin or not sin.  Jesus did not put constraints around this idea.  He did not say – well don’t judge in matters of the world, but you are free to judge in matters of the church.  No.  He said not to judge each other – ever.  The only qualified judge is our God.  We are crappy at it.  We cause more harm than good.  It is no accident that Jesus followed the words for us not to judge, with not to condemn.  Have you noticed our judgements nearly always lead to a condemnation of someone over something.  We always find ourselves with a guilty verdict for somebody.  And we condemn them almost immediately.  We judge.  Then we condemn.  We do this to sinners most of all.  And it is sinners who LEAST need our judgement and our condemnation.  This idea of judging and condemning sinners as a tool of evangelism comes straight from the mind of Satan, not the lips of Christ.  It has the opposite effect of leading people to Jesus, instead it drives them away.  It teaches them they will never be good enough.

The only way to find relief from sin is to come to Jesus.  But you cannot be forced there, or frightened there.  You must see His love, and feel that lure in your own heart as a response.  You cannot do that when you are constantly bombarded with pronouncements of guilt by those who claim to follow Jesus.  That condemnation does not drive you to the Cross.  It drives you away from the Cross.  Better the judge be dead, than be the cause of keeping people from the only relief from sin they will ever know.  That means, the judge in us, needs to die and be silent forevermore.  Instead of judgment and verdicts of condemnation – Christians are to offer forgiveness.  That means, Casey Anthony, George Zimmerman, OJ Simpson, Michael Brown and Darren Wilson – should all be welcome in your church, your home, and your heart.  It does not matter what you think they did, or did not do.  It does not matter what you feel about any one of them.  Your ideas, your feelings, your judgment, your beliefs about them is entirely irrelevant.  Your forgiveness of them, as ideally they too should forgive you, is all that matters.  Your love of them is all that matters.  For your love of them, may be the only thing, that takes tragedy and pulls down the sadness.

Jesus continues in verse 38 saying … “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”  Jesus reminds us of the cumulative effect of giving on our hearts.  When through our submission to Christ of our ideas, our will, our desires we are freed from the burden of judgement we have so long held on to – we are free to love, to give to others instead.  Forgiveness of others breaks the chain of hate that lies deep within us.  It is our own hearts we destroy because we refuse to forgive.  When we can love and give to others, we heal the damage we have so long done to our own hearts.  And what comes to our bosom is not the gifts of others in return for our own, it is the healing of our hearts that nothing else could have done for us.  This is not the idea of you giving to others, ONLY so they can give back to you in return and in greater measure.  This is the idea that the act of you giving to others, to those you might have previously thought did not deserve it, puts you in harmony with how God thinks, and how God loves.  That harmony with the ways of God, will heal more of your heart and soul than anything else could have done.  And more than you could have imagined.

Jesus continues in verse 39 saying … “And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? [verse 40] The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.”  We are not capable of judging because we do not see clearly into the hearts of men.  Only our God can do that.  But our God is busy forgiving, and redeeming, and giving to us.  If this is how our God spends His time, are we to do any different.  We can join with our God in forgiving, especially those who do not want our forgiveness, or deserve it.  We can join with our God in giving and loving, especially those who do not love us, or ever give back to us.  We are too blind to judge.  But perhaps not too blind to follow the ways of our God in forgiveness, and giving.  If we are to be perfect, we must be like He who is perfect.  We do not see well enough to judge, but we may see well enough to meet a need instead.

Jesus brings home the point again picking up in verse 41 saying … “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? [verse 42] Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.”  Too often we condemn our brother for some minor offense, while being guilty ourselves of a major one.  We like to think we know how to weigh sin, and determine which ones are the more grievous ones to commit.  Murder is worse than theft is worse than lying.  But pride began it all.  And lying made it grow.  Murder sprang from these earlier and more insidious sins.  Being gay was not the first sin.  And how we deal with our sins is not something I can cure you from.  My own log in my eye will always be too great to remove the splinter from your eye.  There is no weight of sin one versus the other.  And I am no sin removal doctor.  To tell the truth, I am not even a good judge of what you do, to know if it is sin at all.  I must trust in Jesus to address what is erring in you, as He does what is erring in me.  And I must trust in His love to be great enough to save us both.

This is not about behavior.  Behavior is merely a symptom.  This is about the core of who you are.  You do not judge others because it is something you do in your spare time.  You judge, nearly constantly.  You condemn, nearly constantly.  Because it is who you are.  That is what needs to change.  That is why the judge in you must die.  It must be taken from you before you will be freed from it.  It cannot just take a nap and leave you safe from it.  It needs to go entirely.  You must be made free from it, by the only God who is able to free you from it.  Jesus is the only one who can kill the judge in you, and re-create what He intended you to be.  He looks to transform you from dying bramble bush that you are, into part of the vine in His vineyard.  To make you something that produces a different fruit than condemnation, a fruit of love instead.

Jesus continues in verse 43 saying … “For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. [verse 44] For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. [verse 45] A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.”  What you say.  What you think reveals who you are.  What you feel about the criminals you believe guilty is NOT OK.  Those feelings are an extension of the judgment in your heart you still cling to.  To love them, to truly love them, you must think differently, so you can love differently.  To love like God loves.  To be the fruit bearing kind, out of the goodness of who you become.  Jesus tells us here, that it takes this kind of core transformation to produce something else out of you.  A real change in who you are.  Anything less, leaves a harvest unfit for you or anyone else.

Jesus continues in verse 46 saying … “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”  Yikes!  Let those words sink in for a minute.  That is Jesus talking to me, to you.  Why call Jesus Lord, why pray, why claim to be His follower – if we refuse to do what He says.  Christians who judge, are not Christians.  They are Christians in name only, but they do not know the Lord they claim to serve.  We are not to judge even in matters of the church, maybe particularly in matters of the church.  If we are to serve our Lord Jesus Christ, perhaps we could start by listening and then doing what He asks us to do.  For those of us who need a transformation to get here.  Let us submit ourselves to Jesus and find that transformation.  Jesus did not come to leave us where we are, He came to lift us from it.  But to be lifted, we must seek to be lifted, and be willing to be lifted.  We must submit to find ourselves in harmony with God’s ways.  Lose the judge in us.  Find the Jesus living in us.

Jesus concludes this sermon, perhaps the greatest sermon ever to the Christian church picking back up in verse 47 saying … ” Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: [verse 48] He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. [verse 49] But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.”  There is a Cat 5 hurricane headed your way.  It is one of Satan’s making.  You will feel its fury no matter whether you are founded on the Rock or not.  This is not a product of global warming, it is a product of Satan’s intensity.  The fall of the home and of the heart, not grounded in Jesus will be great.  It is Jesus who says this very thing.

So I ask, who are you?  Are you the judge, jury, and executioner of your own heart?  Do you ignore the words of Jesus and continue to judge all matters of sin and righteousness though you are too blind to see either.  Or has your heart been made free of this burden, by letting Jesus free you from your own ideas, and feelings, and desires – in favor of His own.  The fury of Satan’s floods and winds are destined to rage in your life.  It is coming.  A many hour tornado with rains and floods that will flatten the home of hypocrisy without so much as a second glance backwards.  There is but one defense.  It is not the cries of agony while the storm rages on.  It is the transformation of your heart that precedes the storm.  It is your persistence in not just reading the words of Jesus, but the transformation of who you are, that would find you doing these words because they are a part of you.  Will this storm find you loving others, unshackled from the burden of judgement of your own heart.  Not weighed down with the anchor of condemnation, but instead lifted by the buoy of love that will not be denied.  If we are all to face the storm, why not head into it with the life raft of becoming the words of Jesus in action.  Let the judge die.  See the saint resurrected in you.  And survive the gale in the transformation of Jesus Christ in your life, not just reading, but doing because you are in harmony with who God is.