judge

So her husband, Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly. Matthew 1:19

We left off our study of new beginnings with a cliff hanger of sorts. There sat Jonah on a hill wishing he were dead. And God reminding Jonah that He cares for all people of the earth, especially the ones “who cannot tell their right hand from their left.” Thank goodness for that because there are many days I feel and act like one of those foolish people! If left to being helped out of my fiery pit by unloving, sleepy Christians, I would surely find myself in the depths of hell. But for God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. And those that submit themselves not only to their will but do so out of love.

So, we leave the Old Testament with many more stories of new beginnings than I have shared. And with hope that Jonah finally grasped God’s message of works without love is empty and useless. But here’s the thing about our guidebook for life, the Bible, God’s holy Word, there’s 1000s of connections back and forth between the ancient stories in the Old Testament and the newer history of the New Testament. Which leads us to the first new beginning we encounter in the book of Matthew. Another Noah. Another servant of God who is the way maker for the world’s new beginning. The connector from the old ways to the new. A man who, like Noah, was considered “righteous” and faithful to God. But first, let me share with you a modern story of another righteous man who helped shepherd in a new beginning for one small child.

Epworth’s Children’s Home received this first-hand account from a foster parent in 2017 about his experience in becoming a foster father:

“Our family has been fostering a boy since October 2017. Yesterday our foster child had a court hearing to determine what step to take as far as his custody goes. I haven’t shared a lot about the whole foster experience because I have been afraid, to be completely honest. Afraid because fostering has been a lot harder for me than I thought it would be. Not because the child is difficult – it has been hard because of my heart. Ever since he came into our home, I have been terrified of becoming too attached and having my heart broken when he would eventually leave our home. I have been terrified of giving him all of my love, my energy, my grace and my compassion. I was sitting in the courtroom listening to the different parties discussing and debating the best course of action for the child’s future, when I started shaking. I began to realize this is the moment! The moment I decide to completely expose my heart to the potential of pain, or keep my walls up. It was absolutely terrifying! I started hearing a small voice inside that I could no longer ignore, and it was telling me to fight for this child. I realized I was willing to do anything for him.

“My walls started to crumble around me. Then I heard the judge call my name. He wanted to know if I wanted to adopt this child. I wanted to scream “Yes! He is my son!”, but I think I said something a little less dramatic like, “Yes sir, we are working on becoming licensed for adoption for this child.” I then heard the judge say that he is ordering termination of parental rights and opening this case for adoption. The weight of this decision is not lost on me, but it was one of the most powerful experiences that I have ever had.”

But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. Matthew 1:20

Joseph was our Lord’s foster father. As a devout follower of the Mosaic Law, he had every right to not only publicly shame Mary for her “adultery” but also to have her stoned to death! Before the angel even spoke to him, however, love, kindness, compassion took over and he decided to quietly divorce her. Think of how Jonah would’ve responded. Surely God would’ve had to intervene to save Mary’s life from Jonah’s anger.

After Joseph obeyed God’s urging to complete his marriage vows to Mary, his troubles surely were not over. Like Noah, he would’ve faced public humiliation. The knowledge of Mary’s pregnancy in the small village of Nazareth would have spread like a wildfire. And yet he stayed the course. He stayed faithful not only to Mary but to God. He didn’t, by all accounts do it begrudgingly like Jonah. He took up the mantle of “foster father” and protected his family, raised his son as his own. His new beginning was as father to someone else’s son. An earthly role model. A shepherd, like Noah, for what was to be all of humanity’s new beginning.

Joseph and the unnamed servant girl who helped Naaman (2 Kings 5:3) also have a lot in common. They were faithful. They had a heart for God. They stepped up to help when they could’ve taken a different path. Their small steps were a gift to many. And they both are but a few lines in our history. Joseph’s last mention of him doesn’t even use his name. Jesus is 12 years old, immersed in the teachings at the temple and his parents are frantically looking for him. His mother chastises him and says, “Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you!” (Luke 2:48) After that, Joseph fades away. Most likely, he passes before Jesus begins his adult ministry.

And yet we remember him each Christmas for his shepherding, protecting, and faith. We should all add a bit of thanks to Joseph each day we pray in Jesus’ name. Because like so many faithful servants of Christ, He obeyed out of love. He didn’t ask or require that “thanks.” He didn’t harbor ill will for having to endure hardship. He put his head down, his hands out and his heart lifted and said to God, “I will.”

I want to share with you the rest of the letter written to Epworth Children’s Home by the foster father:

“I will end with this. This is especially for you guys and fathers. If you feel God tugging at your heart to become a foster parent, listen! There will always be a reason to not become a foster parent, but if your main reason is that you are scared your heart will be broken, then you especially need to do it. Foster children need someone who will be heartbroken over them. They need someone who is going to stick by them when things get hard. They haven’t experienced that. They need someone to love them and be gentle with them when they come over and hit you in the face with a maraca and break your glasses (not that I have ever had that happen, that is completely hypothetical, of course!). They need someone who is going to be faithful to them and strong for them in their weakest moments. I am by no means perfect in any of those, but I am strong in my faith, and it provides me the love, strength and grace that I need. Fostering has made me more dependent on God, in everything, and that is good. Ultimately, I am a foster child who was adopted into His family, and I am fully loved.”

Amen.

Therefore let us stop 
passing judgment on one 
another. Instead, make 
up your mind not to put 
any stumbling block or 
obstacle in the way of 
a brother or sister. 
Romans 14:10

A prayer to not be judgemental of others

Holy God, we live in a world that judges us on a photo that gets scrolled by in an instant, our decision at the ballot box, the type of car we drive, or even the color of our skin. I am guilty of making snap judgements about the people I encounter throughout my day. But in your world, LORD, we are all equally loved. I have discovered the uniqueness of your message through Jesus – that you are the father, king, counselor, protector of ALL people. You are at work in all of our lives, believer and non-believer. Through the life lessons of Jesus and the prompting of the Holy Spirit I will be the type of person who loves first, rather than judges first. I want to be loved and accepted for who I am uniquely made to be and I will see others in that same light. I pray this in your Son’s name, Amen

Recently, my BSGs were talking about why the world’s major religions continue to reject Jesus. We had a great discussion about the belief systems of Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Jews. It was great to see how knowledgeable the group was from either taking classes or reading up on the topic. What stood out to me is how much more restrictive these other religions truly are and how much work they require of their followers to attain their end goal. And when we start requiring people to work for their salvation it seems to inevitably lead to hierarchies or even caste-type systems.

You, then, why do you judge 
your brother or sister? Or 
why do you treat them with 
contempt? For we will all 
stand before God’s judgment 
seat. 
Galatians 6:10

Jesus swept this type of contempt away. In one painful death, we are all promised salvation through belief in Him. That’s it. No crazy ritual. No particular way we dress. No matter our family background. No matter our wealth or lack thereof. No matter our origin of birth. No need to pray at certain times a day looking in a certain direction. No flowers and incense placed for offering. Just, “I believe Jesus is God and my savior.”

What that one act does is it sets us all on even ground. Because one day, the truth is, we will all die. Our wealth, status, family tree, how many followers we have on Instagram will not matter one bit. Therefore, to God, it doesn’t matter right now. He cares about one thing and one thing only – the salvation of our soul.

So why do we feel the need to judge differently?

^“Stop judging by mere appearances, 
but instead judge correctly.” 
John 7:24

Jesus made this statement in defense of healing people on the Sabbath. The crowd called him “demon-possessed.” He stated that if a boy can be circumcised under the Law on the Sabbath why did they judge Him so harshly for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? Jesus wasn’t doing the things the way the crowd demanded they be done so therefore He was a borderline lunatic or heretic.

When I embarked on what I called my “Sparkly New Life” a few years ago I realized my greatest issue at the time was my relentless judging of people based on “The Rules According to Kris.” It’s easy to get angry and frustrated when people don’t obey all your rules of life. The statement, “I hate people who….” Or “I hate it when…” easily rolled off my tongue.

I have noticed this, that when a man is full of the Holy Ghost, he is the very last man to be complaining of other people.
D.L. Moody

The topic of judgement has really got us Christians into hot water over the years. It seems our history of judging harshly while not loving others really turned people away. And now, we have flipped to not using judgement at all. All behavior seems to be accepted at a number of our large denominations. As a regular ole Christian, the topic of judgement has been difficult to define. I know I’m to love others but what does loving someone who is actively sinning against the Word look like?

James has two helpful hints on how to treat people:

My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2:1
My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. 5:19-20

In other words, treat the rich man and the poor man with the same respect. And when we see a fellow Christian on the wrong tract we are to, with the help of God, try and guide them back to the Word.

Notice there is a distinction between judging the behavior of our fellow Christians and those who don’t know the Word. It’s unkind and unhelpful to expect behaviors from people who either don’t know what they’re doing is wrong or just don’t believe in God and His consequences. But no matter the situation we are to act like Jesus – with lovingkindness. And for us non-perfect people, with the recognition that the log in our eye is our first priority.

I am so thankful for the grace that God affords me and the love He piles on me. The days I leave the house looking like I should never have left my bed. The days I can’t find my smile. For the days when my beat-up VW bug was my only transportation. For the days when I couldn’t afford the coolest jeans. For the days when my child was screaming bloody murder in the store and I couldn’t quiet her. All of it – my good side and my not so great side that I present to the world – God loves me no matter what. I want to be like that for others. A person who sees what God sees in others.

If you want this too, add the prayer to your daily prayer list and watch and see how God works in your life!

Tag: judge

I Will

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