Judgement (this weeks sermon topic) isn’t a very popular notion these days. But it is actually very important in the right place by the right people in order to establish justice and in order to show love.
Imagine the child who grows up thinking they are a wonderful singer, but can’t actually hold a tune. Encouraged by parents and peers, they have no idea how much they are embarrassing themselves, but no-one wants to ‘judge’ so the farce continues.
One of the dramatic shifts in our culture over the last decade or so has been the rise of ‘tolerance’. Tolerance is the new queen of virtues, taking the place of love. The problem with tolerance is it doesn’t care enough to intervene. Love, on the other hand, doesn’t just tolerate, but seeks what’s best for the other person, even when it might involve disagreeing or even rebuking another person. Very often we aren’t in a position to judge, since we only see things from our own limited perspective.
Ultimately God is judge, and he will set to right all the injustices of our world on the day when Jesus Christ returns in glory. The problem for us is that from God’s perspective (the true perspective) we will all be found wanting on that judgement day – every single one of us (Romans 3:10-12). Thanks be to God that Jesus Christ has provided a way for us to find forgiveness and escape God’s righteous judgement – and we’ll see more on this next week!
