Who Died And Made Us Judges?
Good Morning Friends,
It was F. B. Meyer, a contemporary of D.L. Moody who once said that when we see a brother or sister in sin, there are two things we do not know: First, we do not know how hard he or she tried not to sin. And second, we do not know the power of the forces that assailed him or her. And by extension we do not know what we would have seen or done in similar circumstances. Honestly we should be so busy trying to do what we are supposed to be doing that we do not have time to judge. If we have time to speak ill of another then there is probably something that is outside of God’s will in our lives. Basically if we are going to point a finger at someone else we had better make sure that there is not something in our own lives that needs cleaning… So if we have been judging others in an unloving way… Who Died And Made Us Judges?
Scripture: Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters. Whoever speaks evil against another or judges another, speaks evil against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. So who, then, are you to judge your neighbor? Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.” Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin.
James 4:11-17 (NRSV)
Message: Yes I will tell you that as a church, as Christians we are to call sin – sin. But sin is an action not a person. And in doing so we are to confront it one on one, lovingly and honestly. Unfortunately though when we all try to be umpires calling the fouls, balls and strikes on everyone it can turn into chaos. Friend’s judging one another is Satan’s trick to get Christ’s followers to destroy themselves. We should be more concerned with what we are doing than about what someone else is not doing or thinking. And undoubtedly in our efforts to plan ahead and get things right we must never do it at the expense of today. We need to commit our plans to God and leave the results to God so that we can make the most of this day. Only by putting Christ at the center point do we make the most of this day. And we need to do that for we are just a mist anyway. A few days before his death, Meyer wrote the following words to a friend: “I have just heard, to my great surprise that I have but a few days to live. It may be that before this reaches you, I shall have entered the palace. Don’t trouble to write. We shall meet in the morning.” What a great conviction. Friends we do need to see beyond our own eyes when it comes to beauty and when it comes to sin. So make amends as best you can and do the best you can moment by moment. God has forgiven us so we might be freed to live. Believe that only in Christ can things be made right.
Pray we humble ourselves before God and forgive one another. Pray we fill the day with encouraging words. Pray we work to make things better. Pray we start our day not with arrogance but with submission. Pray we make plans knowing and acknowledging that God is in charge and that we will make mistakes. Pray we remember that God’s good is revealed and we sense God’s will but need to also remember that God is the Judge of all things.
Pray we plan ahead by making the most of today with excitement in what it may bring. Pray we have patience. Pray we do as much good this day as we can. Pray our spirit this day is a sweet smell to those around us. Pray we love one another.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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