Who is the Judge?

"One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we diem we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
   Why do you pass judgement on your brother? Or you, who do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written,

"As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,

and every tongue shall confess to God."

So then each of us will give an account to God. Therefore let us not pass judgement on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother." (Romans 14:5-13 ESV)

   I was reading this passage this morning in Romans and it struck me. I had read it before, but in some ways I saw it from a one-sided view. I saw it pointed at those in the church one would call "judgmental." How many of us attempt to determine how "real" someone else's faith is? This one drinks a lot. This one smokes. This one watches unclean movies. This one has been divorced three times. This person believes the earth is MILLIONS of years old! And I realize our American church is full of brothers and sisters passing judgement on one another. Over issues which DO NOT MATTER! Women as pastors? This is a doctrine (or opinion), not a dogma. (A Dogma is the highest level, it is a belief which is at the core of the Christian faith, and must be agreed upon, such as God as creator and redeemer)

   Now I do not want this to be an argument over whether women should be in the church, whether it is ok to drink (after all, Jesus turned water into wine...yes, wine.) You see, I think the turn off to an upcoming generation is in some ways we have let the church become about these rules and understandings. We say "don't drink, don't smoke, don't watch those movies, don't have sex, hold this political stance." It has been about DOING instead of about BEING. The only thing we like to be is the judge.

"And he [Jesus] commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be the judge of the living and the dead." (Acts 10:42 ESV)

You see, God appointed Christ as the judge. So why do I try so hard to play the judge? It's funny, as I sit here I thought about what makes us want to be something else. Is it by the way they constantly talk down and tell us what we are doing is wrong and we'll never make it to where we want to be? Don't do that. You know what the punishment for that is, right? See, when I want to play basketball I look around and see the talent the other players have. I watch as they discuss the hard work, the trials they pushed through. How they talked of encouragement and pushing through. How many Christians commit to be an example? Even though we are called to. I would rather be the judge than be the example. And yet, if I strived to set the example, to encourage and say, hey, you can get to this point! This is what you can do to get there. Push through, you can make it! And I must realize it will be God who transforms them, through Christ and the Holy Spirit. I cannot make them be or do anything. I cannot judge them. My words mean nothing. The words of Christ mean everything. I can speak truth. But when I try to let the truth I speak be my own words of judgement, I am no longer being like Christ. I can speak, this is what the Lord says. But when I tell someone, "Well, then you are going to hell for doing this." I have set myself as judge. God is Judge. Not me. Not you. Not the Pope. Not your pastor. Nor any man who is on this earth. God. Is. Judge.

"Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth." (1 John 3:18 ESV)

Let us today commit to stop trying to play the judge. Rather let us love by being examples, through our deeds and the truth we don't just speak, but live. Let us encourage those who have not given their lives to Christ, that Christ is the only way. Let us not condemn them (playing judge) but encourage them to turn to something better, to Christ, who will transform them, shape them, and who in the end, will be the judge of all.

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God." (1 John 4:7 ESV)