Luke 12:57 (Jesus said) “Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right?”
There’s
a lot of talk these days about Christians being too judgmental. We’re criticized
for trying to live according to Christ’s words and sometimes those accusations
sting us personally. Consequentially, some people of our faith are afraid of appearing
to be judgmental in the eyes of others, so they’ve stopped making judgments
altogether. Instead of being the leaven in society in order to change the world
for the better in God’s eyes, we’ve become stale. We would rather be respected
by others in society, instead of respecting Christ’s own words. We want to be
considered broad minded and open rather than following Christ’s sacred and
singular way. And even when our church pastors or Christian teachers mention
this, we close off our ears, hearts, and minds to any questioning of our
choices or to those suggestions that we are walking on the wrong path.
Jesus
also had to deal with this in His own day. He was frustrated by the lack of
judgment His people were making with regard to their faith and everyday
choices. They could work out what kind of day it was going to be by looking at
the color of the sky in the morning, but they couldn’t discern that Christ was
among them, challenging their ways, and confronting their choices. Even though
the signs of the Messiah were all there before them, they didn’t accept Jesus
as the Anointed One. They wanted Him to be shaped according to their plans,
their needs, and their beliefs.
“Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?” Jesus frustratingly
exclaims. In other words, you know what is right, so what is stopping you from
choosing it?
Being
a 21st century Christian and living a cosmopolitan world is
difficult, but who ever said it was going to be easy? When faithful people
judge what is right, the world is always going to complain that we are narrow-minded
and spiritually closed: yet isn’t that why Christ was crucified? He was totally
misunderstood, became unpopular, and was finally executed for daring to judge
what was right – perhaps this is why we find it so hard to do the same.
Questions for personal reflection
What makes me a Christian?
How different is my lifestyle from my non-Christian peers?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, You have called me to be
a Christian and to judge what is right. Help me not to be fearful of my peers
when they attack my faith or ridicule my religion. In Your Holy Name, I pray.
Amen.
John
Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian
Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s
message, please send him an email to traqair@aol.com.
Today’s
image is a Good Friday crayon drawing of John’s called “Passover.” If you would
like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5259/5394517049_ef741c1bdf_b.jpg
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