Forever Beloved

As Christians, we are often accused of being judgmental. Goodness, poor Phil Robertson created two media crazystorms being accused of being judgmental. As soon as you start talking about judging, the first verse pulled out is Matthew 7:1, Judge not, that ye be not judged.

I do agree with this…tearing others down, judging harshly, judging their hearts, making rash and unkind judgments is all wrong.  Totally wrong.  It’s absolutely not our place to judge others hearts.  There is only one person that can do that, God.

But if we were all honest, don’t we all judge every day?  Don’t we all make calls every day based on wisdom and discernment?  Y’all, that’s judging!  As a Mama, don’t you judge television shows to see if your kids can watch them?  As a wife, don’t you judge what actions you should and shouldn’t do?  Don’t we make daily calls on what is wise to spend our money on?  And hello, have you ever sat on a jury?  Yep, that was all you judging someone.  So can we really actually say we should all just stop judging?

Did Jesus judge others?  I mean, surely He came into contact with tons of sinners.  How did He handle it?  When Jesus encountered people who were caught in sin, first He showed them love, (the woman at the well, the woman caught in adultery), then He told them to go and sin no more. He never insisted they stop sinning first.

Wow.  So before He judged them, He loved on them.  He didn’t scoff at them, roll His eyes and treat them poorly.  HE LOVED THEM! Is it easier to hear criticism from someone if they loved on you first? If they said it with kindness and you knew their heart was in the right place? You betcha! It’s all about love people. Gods greatest commandment was love one another {John 13:34}.

Now let’s get to the hard part, the actual judging.  The Bible tells us that we are our brothers keeper and we are to care about each other.  If we see someone in the church that is struggling, it’s our place to go to them in love and talk to them.  In essence, judge.  Honestly, what our “judging” should look like is being filled to the top and over flowing with love, caring and helpfulness.  We all stumble and fall and we all need someone to help pick us up.

Is there a pregnant teen in your church?  Take her to lunch, see what she needs, throw her a shower…SHOW her God’s love.  Is there someone in your church having an affair?  Go meet privately with them, tell them you know what’s going on and ask how you can help, direct them to a marriage counselor…SHOW them God’s love.  Is there a new member of your church that is homosexual?  Take them to lunch, get to know them, reach out to them…SHOW them God’s love.  That, my sweet friends, is what our judging should look like.

Let me end this by saying I’m far from perfect myself and sure need lots of reminding from the Lord as to how my walk should be going. But thankfully His grace is new every morning. I just hope to maybe give a little honesty and hopefully open your heart to God’s direction.