Thoughts From Luke - Day 26

                                                 Luke 6:37-45
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ³⁸ 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.”
³⁹ He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? ⁴⁰ The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.
⁴¹ “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? ⁴² 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.
⁴³ “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. ⁴⁴ Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. ⁴⁵ A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.


        What is a judge? Isn't it someone who observes actions, evidence, data and compares it to a standard and then decides the fate of the person on display? I'm pretty sure that's what judge Judy does. I'm pretty sure that's what Olympic diving or skating judges do. So how does this relate to us as Christians? Why are we told not to judge?

         We all, whether we are saved or unsaved, are in God's courtroom. We are not judges - He is. We do not figure out or declare someone's fate - God does. However we are told to be fruit inspectors in verses 43-45. We can tell by people's actions and words whether they are following God or not - whether they are being good or evil. Our job is in humility to come alongside them and offer encouragement, warning, help to them almost with tears in our eyes, fearing for their eternal future. While doing this, we could ask for their help to keep us accountable in areas we are struggling.

       The fact is that we as the church do have an enormously big plank in our eye. We have a divorce rate similar to the world's. We have 70% of youth leaving the church when they go to college. We have teens getting pregnant and getting abortions. We have pastors of mega churches having heterosexual and homosexual affairs. We give unbelievers lots of ammunition against us.

       Rather than speaking out against things like homosexuality, lets volunteer at AIDS clinics. Lets give money to AIDS research. Lets give post-abortion counseling, support groups for drug and alcohol addiction. Let's feed the hungry, house the homeless, help immigrants whether legal or illegal, fight racism. Lets be known for that. Lets be known for what we are for, rather than what we are against. Will people then love us and accept our message? No. But at least they will be ashamed when they call us judgmental.

      Lord, help me not to be judgmental. I have certainly been accused of this probably because of the way I distance myself from people. Help me to genuinely care and love people so I can get into their lives and we can help each other, not judge each other. Amen