Matthew 7:1-2, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
I must confess I grow weary of the day to day judgments that I read and hear about. The volume seems to get louder and louder with each passing day. Yet, I’m well aware that when I’m living out of a vacuum and not the fullness of God, I find myself judging others.
A wise man once said, “Judgments are like corks they block the flow of God’s love flowing through us.”
If that flow is blocked then I fail to see every human as one who bears the image of God. I’m not able to see what God sees in them because I’m seeing them through my old nature. I should only have one opinion about all people; they were worth Jesus dying for.
James addresses the issue of judgment in chapter 2:12-13, “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
Now, when I find myself commenting about the speck in someone else’s eye and fail to see the plank in my own, I know it is time to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” And then ask the Holy Spirit to collapse those judgment mechanisms that live in my head.
Jesus shows us how we can live out of the fullness of God. John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” When I choose to live out of the fullness of God that comes through making my home in Him, I will bear much fruit and see others as He sees them.
Lord fill us with mercy, not judgment.