"And He has given Him authority to judge because He is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out--those how have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgement is just, for I seek not to please myself but Him who sent me."
John 5:27-30
In this passage Jesus is proclaiming Himself with the authority and power to judge others. He is also referring to the final Judgement. But lastly and most importantly, He states that His judgment is just. Why? Because He is seeking to please His Father and not Himself. He will reward the good and punish the bad according to their deeds. It's simple but why do we get in the way of Jesus' role as Judge?
Why do we think that we can do a better job? Why do we judge a person's character based on their appearance? I can't answer those questions. I do know that when I find myself judging others, gossiping about their actions in a condescending tone, or thinking harsh thoughts about them, I can turn to God. I can pray for help to stop those actions. I can pray for the self-control to hold my tongue and cleanse my thoughts. I need to hand the role of Judge back over to Jesus.
If you go to court or watch court shows on TV, the defense and prosecuting attorneys have the opportunity to present the case to the judge. They give the background details of why the defendant and plaintiff are in front of the judge. The judge has an idea of the situation and can make a just decision. However, most of the time when we play judge, we don't give others the opportunity to tell their back story or give the background knowledge. We jump to conclusions. We as a human culture need to stop. Hand that gavel back over to Jesus and let Him be the Judge of the world!
With His Love,
A
PS I know this can't be easy but how do you work on not judging others?
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