Judging

 

Judging

 

 

It is impossible not to judge

We were made to judge

To judge is to form an opinion or conclusion

You and I form opinions and conclusions everyday

When we form our opinions and conclusions from the values of the surface

We can make painful decisions

But when we seek to understand God the Father’s will and not our own

We can judge with wisdom

 

 

 Judging

 

If you are wanting a dog,

you probably will be looking

for a cute little puppy.

 

 So, you pick out the most

adorable and bring it home.

 

 You quickly find out you have to deal with the

pee on the carpet and the chewing on the furniture.

 

Thank goodness the dog was

cute or you might have killed it.

  

We form opinions on cloths, cars,

houses, food and everything in life.

 

Are you a person who will not eat some

foods because it does not look pleasing?

 

Or, do you like something

because someone else likes it?

 

I once meet a man in the church

who lived in a very nice house.

 

He had a large framed picture of him and his family

in his office that looked like the perfect family.

  

He was an investor and lived the high life.

 

I made a loan with borrowed

money for a quick return with him.

 

In the end, he took millions from others just

like me and went to prison after he spent it all.

 

It is so hard for us to get past

 the surface when we judge.

 

Some of those judgments can be very painful.

 

Family is meant to be a very strong bond.

 

Yet, we can sometimes fail to judge

a matter because of our relationship.

 

Throughout the Bible, we read about

forming opinions and conclusions.

 

In the Bible is a lot of great

instructions and examples.

 

One of those places is in John 5.

 

Jesus speaks of judging and eternal life.

 

Jesus says…

 

A time is coming when the dead

will hear the voice of the Son of God.

 

In verse 28 and 29 we get an amazing picture…

 

"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 who have done good will rise to live,

 and those who have done evil

will rise to be condemned.

 

I can’t get this image out of my

mind of all the graves opened.

 

 If you have ever seen the bodies of people

after being in the grave…

 

 You will agree, no one looks

good after being in the grave.

 

You are not going to choose the

best looking, because there are none.

 

Jesus tells us what He is looking for

in those dead bodies, good or evil.

 

That in its self is hard for us to determine

because of the strong influences of the

world we live in and the personal opinions.

 

But Jesus tells us He does not make

 the judgement on His own pleasure.

 

But He makes the judgement

based on pleasing the Father…

 

“For I seek not to please myself

 but him who sent me.”

 

You and I need to make judgements every day.

 

Those judgements will affect

your life now and for eternity.

 

Probably the best advice we can take is this…

 

What pleases God the Father?

 

This advice will help us form

opinions that get past the surface.

 Scripture Reading

 

John 5:24-30 NIV

 

24 "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. 25 I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

 

28 "Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out — those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. 30 By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.