“As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair on his head was white as wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.” Daniel 7:9-10
I had jury duty this week, so I am thinking lots about courtrooms and pondering things like guilt, sin, judgment, the judge, justice, innocence, punishment, etc. It was a full week with many lessons that I pray God will continue to teach me and I will, by His grace and through the power of His Spirit, learn.
The first day of the week I was almost put on a sequestered jury. The indictment was 1st degree murder. It doesn’t get more serious than that. I was shocked at how powerful the emotions I felt were. I was put up in the box of 20 possible jurors (of which 14 were chosen). My heart started to race. My palms became sweaty. My teeth began to chatter. I was shaking and light-headed. The weight of making the decision as to someone else’s guilt or innocence was literally making me sick. I knew I didn’t want to have that responsibility. I knew that even if the evidence pointed toward that he was guilty, I couldn’t know what the defendant was thinking. I couldn’t see into his mind and heart to know his motives. And, even if I was able to come to the conclusion that he was guilty, I did not want to give the verdict that would condemn him to the possible punishment of death.
The next day I was stuck in the waiting room that they call people out of to go be on juries most of the morning. I had taken my Bible and journal in case I had this kind of opportunity. It was one of those times where I felt hungry to find verses about forgiveness and judgment. At the time, I didn’t connect it to what had happened the day before, but I am sure that was part of the reason I felt so compelled to hear what God has to say about forgiveness, judgment and justice. Here is one of the passages I was led to:
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and it will be given to you. A good measure pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:36-38
I have been getting a picture in my mind of a person walking on a path toward the judge, going to tell his story and receive his verdict. If this person meets me on the way and I judge and condemn him (either by what I say or by how I act…actions speak louder than words, right?), then he may take my verdict as truth and not continue on to see the judge. He may go away feeling guilty and condemned and afraid to go to the real judge for fear of what the punishment will be. If, on the other hand, I am full of love and forgiveness and I point him toward the judge and encourage him to go to the judge because he is not only fair and just but also loving and compassionate, then the person will probably be encouraged and continue on the path toward the judge, more hopeful of the outcome. If I also share my experience of when I have gone to the judge and how he has had mercy on me, then the person will be even more likely to go to the judge. If I tell the person that I, too, was guilty, he will not feel alone. If I share that when I went to the judge and confessed my crime, the judge’s own son stepped in and said he would take my place and take my punishment – the death sentence I deserved – then that person might even start to run toward the judge. If I tell him that I am no longer guilty but have now been made new and innocent, he may think it is too good to be true, but I feel certain he will hurry along the path to go and see for himself! (I am thinking here that most of this “telling” is not with words but with my life. The way I live, love and treat others is the biggest testimony, the most powerful way I tell anything. Sometimes, though, it will be with words.)
In my life I have many people I encounter every day. What kind of judgment am I passing on to them? Am I being merciful and forgiving? Am I giving them a taste of what our loving Father, the Righteous Judge, will do for them? Loving, accepting and forgiving someone does not say that they are not guilty of something. It says that I am willing to love them and accept them just as they are and forgive them anything that needs to be forgiven. This is exactly what our Lord, Jesus, does for us. While we were still sinners, He died for us. He came to save us. If you aren’t guilty, you don’t need saving and you don’t need someone else to take your punishment. He came for sinners, which we all are!
I also read this on Tuesday:
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Luke 6:41-42
I hear God telling me to allow Him to shine His light into the depths of my heart – to the dark corners where unforgiveness and bitterness lurk and hide. He is bringing them into the light, so that I can confess them and receive His forgiveness, cleansing and purifying (I Jn. 1:9). This is how He creates a clean, pure heart within me (Ps. 51). All these things in my heart can pile up and become an obstacle that keeps me from seeing clearly – a plank in my eye! I must continue to walk on my path to the Judge, to approach His throne of grace over and over and receive mercy and forgiveness (Heb. 4:16). I must continue to step under the flow of His Living Water and allow it to cleanse and fill me to overflowing! Whatever I give is what I will receive, and what I receive and am full of is what I will give – what will spill out onto others. I can only give what I have received…Can you give a gift to someone if you haven’t gotten it yet?! Only after allowing Jesus to heal my blindness by removing the plank – cleansing and purifying my heart – will I be able to see clearly to love and forgive others and point them toward Him. And, only then will my heart be full of love, forgiveness and healing to share with others. When my heart is pure and clean, it is as clear as crystal. Then, when someone comes up to me on their way to see the Judge, I will not be an obstacle. I will not block their view. They will be able to see straight through me to the One who is able to save and who is waiting for them to come to Him. I will shine like a star because the light of Jesus will be able to shine through me, and I will be holding out the Word of Life to those who are perishing (Phil. 2:15-16).
It is amazing to me and beyond my comprehension really, but God’s plan includes us. He has a purpose for each one of us. He has special work that He planned in advance for us to do in Jesus (Eph. 2:10). What we do is of vital importance. We are the Body of Christ. God uses us to accomplish His will.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love…My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” John 15:9-10, 12
“…I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Luke 6:27-28
“…Jesus said, ‘…As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” John 20:21, 22-23
”Really, God is very much in love with us. For example, we (confess) and (afterward are) without sin. How could there be greater love? This is something the human mind cannot understand. That is why Jesus continually says, ‘Love as I have loved you.’ We must be able to forgive like that.” (pg. 17)
“Jesus went about doing good. And we are trying to imitate him now because I believe that God loves the world through us. Just as he sent Jesus to be his love, his presence in the world, so today he is sending us.” (pg. 27)
- from Words to Love By, by Mother Teresa
We are to obey God. He is telling us to love each other, to do good to all (even those that hate us), to bless all (even those that wish us ill-will) and to pray for all (even those who hurt us). We (talking to myself most of all!) must put this into practice. And, only by remaining in Jesus and through the power of His Spirit in us can we do this.
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.” Luke 6:46-48
“He (Jesus) replied, ‘My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.” Luke 8:21
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does.” James 1:22-25
O Father, forgive me. Forgive me for all my transgressions. Forgive me for judging others. You alone are the Righteous Judge. I am not the judge. I am not even the jury. I am your hands and feet, Jesus. Wash over me with your love, peace, acceptance and forgiveness. Let it overflow out onto others. Cleanse me of all unforgiveness, resentment, bitterness and judgment. Against you and you alone have a sinned. Create in me a clean, pure heart. Live and reign there, Jesus. You are the King of my heart and the Love of my life! Let your light shine from within and illuminate not only my path but also that you are the Way for other lost and weary travellers. Holy Spirit, help me to obey and put these things into practice. Love through me. Let your Word ring out in what I think, say and do! Come, Lord Jesus! You are mercy. You are love. In you is everything we need and want. You are the gift to be given! In your holy name – Amen.
