A PIECE OF MY HEART...judgement seat

Dear Readers: I am so encouraged by so many of you who leave loving comments. I can honestly say I can't remember ever getting a negative comment on any of my writings. But I would be totally naive to think that everyone who reads this blog or anything I publish is in total agreement with me. It is never my intent to offend, criticize or judge anyone. The one avenue of the greatest criticism and judgement of people that I see is on facebook. Facebook is a great way to stay connected with friends and family, it is also a great way to lose friends. Facebook brings alot of negativity I believe because we honestly cannot see the heart of someone. Emotion is not a sin. Expressing yourself is also not a bad thing. But casting judgement is not cool. Not with me. and not with God. If you find yourself tempted to judge someone from what you see on the outside, look inwardly and try to see the heart. If you can't see the heart...then ask that person to explain themselves and above all ask God to forgive you for judging and then ask Him to show you that persons heart like He sees it. -I have written this post as a reminder that God is our ultimate Judge. Please read on...

Each of us will one day have to come before the judgment seat and hear God's final judgement. He will look over our life, our actions, our words and He will even reveal our heart and then He will render one final judgment. We will hear either, "Well done, good and faithful servant" or we will be harshly told, "I knew you not!"

Until that final day, each of us have opportunities to make things right in our life and in our hearts. Unfortunately, what happens to many of us is someone here on this earth crawls up into that judgement seat and tries to cast judgement on us before it is time.

As a writer, I can tell you that each and every day someone probably casts judgement upon me based on the things I say or possibly even for the things I do not say. Opinions are made about me as a person based on the tone of my writing or certain verbiage that I use. Every time I write something that is put out there in front of the public eye, I take the risk of someone misunderstanding me or criticising me and even possibly having someone judge me.

This kind of judgement is based on the outward appearance. Many of my writings go all around the globe, much of my readership comes from people that I have never come in contact with eye to eye. Our relationship is merely thru the web. The same is true for the friends that are on my "friend list" on facebook. Many of these "friends" are people who live miles and miles and miles from me, some are not even "real life" friends as we have never even met in person. We are just simply "cyber friends." Even though we have not met, it has aways intrigued me how yet we still have the ability to judge one another.

This kind of judging is carnal. It is of the world. It is in every sinful nature to want to cast judgement on others. Whether we know them or not. If I were to write on my blog or on facebook that I think "the grass is green!" I wonder how many of you would walk away with a different perception of what color green I was speaking of. Someone would no doubt judge me for not thinking the same way as they did about what grass should look like. Instead of approaching me and asking me questions, they would go on thinking how absurd I was for thinking that grass is the shade of "lime green"!

I never SAID it was lime green, but because someone didn't know me intimately or personally, they chose to believe what they wanted to believe. This is a prime example of carnal judgement. It's ugly and it is a sin.

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble…” 1 Peter 5:5 (NIV)

Casting judgement on others must simply break God's heart. When we cast judgement on others, we elevate ourselves up past the point of recognizing that what we are doing is just as ugly as the sin that we are judging others for.

In the book Holiness, Truth, and the Presence of God, author Francis Frangipane says,

 “Anyone can pass judgment – but can they lay down their lives in love, intercession and faith for the one judged? Can they target an area of need and rather than criticizing, fast and pray, asking God to supply the very virtue they feel lacking? And then persevere in that love – motivated prayer until that fallen area blooms in godliness? Such is the life Christ commands we follow!”

There is only One Who has the right to judge, and He has already exemplified what Frangipane is talking about. "Lay down their life in love, intercession and faith for the one judged?" Jesus Christ already did that and even though there is not one person besides Him that have perfected life, He still chose to extend Grace, love and forgiveness to us. None of us deserve it. Most certainly none of us can earn it. But yet He offers it, even when we were lost as all could be. When we were deep in sin, He chose to not judge us but love us and bring us up out of the miry clay.

That's the difference between carnal judgement and eternal judgement. People who serve as the judge and jury can only see the outside. God, however sees the inside. He judges not only what is seen by the eye but what only His eye can see...our motives, our sincerity and our hearts!

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”  LUKE 6:37,38

Be careful about casting judgement on others.

1. You may only see what you want to see.
2. You may only have half the story.
3. You can't always judge a book by its cover.
4. No one has the final say except God.
5. His judgement is more final than any man's could possibly be.

Just be careful!