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Scripture for the day: John 12:47-48 And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.
Thought for the day: Jesus has just visited with the grieving Martha and Mary, felt the pain of their loss and responded in mercy to that pain. Lazarus walked among the people once again because of the spoken word of the Son of God. What has been the response of those in authority? They have immediately plotted to have Him killed, along with Lazarus, who walked the land as a living threat to their position.
Jesus has entered Jerusalem, taught once more in the Temple, and pointed his disciples toward His impending death at the hands of those who felt threatened by His popularity. And what was the response of those surrounding Him? Some believed, though they kept quiet out of fear of the civil authorities. Others aligned themselves firmly on the side of those who would reject Him. The vast majority didn’t know what to believe; they only knew of the miracles this man had performed.
Jesus said in another place, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17). This He said in the dark of night while talking with Nicodemus, who had come at that time out of fear of the Pharisees. To the woman caught in adultery, Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more” (John 8:11). In yet another place, Jesus said, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you” (Matthew 7:1-2). Enough said; I think the scriptures are clearly on the side of a non-judgmental point of view. (All my liberal friends are saying, “Finally, he’s come over to our side.” All my conservative friends are shaking their heads and saying, “How sad, he’s fallen from the way we all know we should be going”).
I once sat across from someone who was living in obvious rebellion against God. We had already discussed their situation and I held out, as best I could, the hand of mercy in Jesus’ name. this person said, “I can’t believe God would send me to hell for doing what I’m doing, for living the way I do.” My characteristically non-pastoral response was, “Well, you got that right. God will not send you to hell for living the way you are. When you enter the gates of hell, you’ll paddle your own canoe.” Now, I get it; that probably wasn’t the best response I could have given. At the same time, the truth often seems hurtful at first glance.
The one thing each of the scripture references I shared with you this morning have this in common; God does not condemn any of us to hell. We condemn ourselves when we refuse to believe and act upon the truth He has taught us. Each time Jesus spoke of condemnation, He made it clear that the response to His claims on our lives is securely in our hands. We believe and act on that belief or we refuse to accept Him and live with the consequences of that decision. The choice is ours.
As the Lord put it through Joshua, “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, …. but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). Each day we’re confronted with this same challenge. For today, just for today, whom will you serve? The choice is yours.
Now go take on your world. - Bill