Psalm 6

Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger

    or discipline me in your wrath.

Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint;

    heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.

My soul is in deep anguish.

    How long, Lord, how long?

Turn, Lord, and deliver me;

    save me because of your unfailing love.

Among the dead no one proclaims your name.

    Who praises you from the grave?

I am worn out from my groaning.

All night long I flood my bed with weeping

    and drench my couch with tears.

My eyes grow weak with sorrow;

    they fail because of all my foes.

Away from me, all you who do evil,

    for the Lord has heard my weeping.

The Lord has heard my cry for mercy;

    the Lord accepts my prayer.

All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish;

    they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.

Before this Psalm, there are musical instructions: "with stringed instruments."  I kinda giggled to myself thinking about what it would be like if our music team led us in a song with these lyrics on Sunday morning.  Not your typical praise chorus.

And yet,

how many Sunday mornings do we roll into church and could easily answer, "I am worn out from my groaning," if we were to answer honestly when asked how we were doing?

Allow me to state the obvious: Psalm 6 is a psalm of lament.

I don't know what tradition you were raised in or what your perspective of contemporary Christianity is if you weren't, but I know that I came out of my upbringing thinking that a Jesus follower had to be like Joy from the movie Inside Out.  (She's the one with her arms outstretched in the picture above.)  I remember a praise lyric, "I'm inside, outside, upside, downside, happy all the time!"  And there are a lot of verses about God giving us joy: the joy of the Lord is our strength; it's a fruit of the Spirit; heck, we're even supposed to consider it pure joy when we face trials of many kinds.  A passage like Psalm 6 can leave you wondering.  Was David not as fantastic of a God-follower as we've been told, too emotional or whiny?  Is Pixar better at acknowledging our humanity than the Bible?!  Or are the psalms of lament included in the canon of Scripture to teach us about the nature of God, how we can relate to Him, and a rebuke of Christians-must-be-pretutally-happy- robots -people message?

Let's see!

What's the main idea of Psalm 6?

When approaching the Word, we always want to begin by considering what it has to tell us about God.  The Bible is, after all, a book of revelation about him, that we may know him and respond to his invitation to relationship with him.  Psalms of lament have some or all of these elements, with the bold being the most common: invocation, plea for help, complaint, confession, cursing enemies, confidence in God, and a hymn or blessing to close.  In Psalm 6 we find an invocation, plea, complaint, and confidence in God.  Considering the genre and what it has to tell us about God, the main idea of psalm 6 is when we find ourselves in dire straights, running to God and declaring what is true about the situation, our feelings, and His character is the faithful move, because it expresses our trust in his love, strength, and sovereignty.

Do you see how David does this?  He doesn't shy away from brutal honesty, and in the first verses one gets the impression that he's maybe a little concerned about this blunt approach.  He's like, "Hey God, um, yeah, like, don't wipe me out, have mercy on me.  Your anointed King is not at his best right now."  But given how the Lord has guided, protected, and preserved his life so far, David knows that it is okay to come as he is.  Things are just plain hard!  He is literally dealing with enemies who want him to fail or, worse, die.

"How long, Lord, how long?" is not an unreasonable question from the man who knows he's to be Israel's next king.  God made the promise, but the road has been rocky!

I believe it's important at this juncture to share a theme I see emerging from Psalms.  Like in Psalm 1, we saw the contrast between the righteous and the wicked (those who trust God and those who do not), there is another major contrast presented, God and humankind.  God is a self-sufficient, powerful, eternal, holy, merciful refuge.  Humans are dependent, weak, finite, and very much in need of refuge.

In our psalm here we see how David is worn out, beaten down, and defeated.  He needs God to intervene, so he turns to Him.  Even in his grief, David recites what is true: God hears his prayers; his enemies will be defeated (God promised); he will know God's comfort; this weeping isn't the end of the story.

David, in lament, runs to his only true refuge, the very source of his hope.

What's this got to do with worship?

Friends, we are in the same boat as David.  Yes, we live after the death and resurrection of Jesus and have the Spirit, but we still wait His second coming, the new heaven and the new earth, the end-end of all sorrow and grief.  Groaning is part of this present season.  David shows us how we can groan faithfully with hope.  We can come to our loving heavenly Father and say, "How long, Lord, how long?" and we can repeat to ourselves and one another the truth that a day is coming when all of God's enemies and the sin that entangles us will be vanquished once and for all.

Reading the Bible and considering the timeline of God with His people reveals two things:

1. God keeps His promises.
2. God, in wisdom, works in His time.

The second one is hard.  I would hurry things along, especially the painful stuff!  But I wonder what I would miss about living by faith, hope, and love if life was always Easy St.?

Oh boy, one final really important thing we learn as we read God's Word to us!

**God is present with His people.**

God wants to be with us and went as far as sending His own Son to die for us so that we can live with Him eternally.  Can you believe it?!   Our Creator-King, whom we have offended with our constant efforts to be our own god, loves us and wants to be with us forever.  He wants to restore and renew us so we can look like Him!

A passage like Psalm 6 reminds us of our desperate need of a delivering and merciful God. 

Psalm 6 teaches us that authentic coming to Him doesn't have to clean up; He comforts and leads us in our sorrow. 

Psalm 6 also shows us how to live faithfully while in distress: weep because it is hard; pray because He hears; look forward to His promises because He is faithful.

Have you ever noticed how many hymns end with a verse of anticipation of Christ's return?  That keeps everything into perspective, just like the psalms of lament closing with words of confidence in God and a blessing of His name.  There's a plan for the end of all this madness.  Someone is overseeing it all and He's good and able.  There is hope because God is, sees, loves, and has a plan!

Tomorrow is Sunday.  May the Lord meet you in worship, whether you are bursting at the seems with joy this weekend or you're "worn out from groaning" like David was. God with with us when our hearts are light, when they are aching, and everything in between.  He delights that we come to Him, no matter what Inside Out character we resemble at the moment!

Lord, help us by your Spirit to be faithful to you in the waiting; it is hard and you know our fragility.

Thank you that your Word teaches us that we can come to you authentically, that you are aware of our trials and tribulations, and that you have a plan to make all things new.

You are present.  All glory to your name.

Amen.

Psalm 1

 Psalm 1

Blessed is the one

    who does not walk in step with the wicked

or stand in the way that sinners take

    or sit in the company of mockers,

but whose delight is in the law of the Lord

    and who meditates on his law day and night.

That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,

    which yields its fruit in season

and whose leave does not wither --

    whatever they do prospers.

Not so the wicked!

    They are like chaff

    that the wind blows away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment

    nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous

    but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

The word of the Lord.  Thanks be to God!

The psalm above is the opening psalm of Psalms.  As I mentioned in the previous post, the compilers of the book put it together with intention.  We can thus assume that this first poetic prayer sets the tone for the book.  In fact, as I have been reading the first three psalms over and over this week, I have been impressed by how all three prepare the reader for what is to come: the first lays out a contrast between ways of living; the second extolls God's authority, sovereignty, and power; the third demonstrates living righteously by crying out to and depending on the God introduced in psalm two.  But today we focus on Psalm 1.

What is the main idea of this psalm?

Without understanding the main idea, we run the risk of missing what the psalmist is trying to say or, worse, misinterpreting or misapplying the Scripture.  Consider this sobering thought in How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, (p218, emphasis mine):

Decontextualizing any part of a psalm is to betray the psalimst, and will often lead to wrong conclusions.  Whenever one takes even a part of a piece of literature and uses it wrongly, and especially with poetry(!), that literature will be unable to do what it was intended to do, and so God's purposes in inspring it are thwarted.

That made me pause the first time I read it!  How important it is to treat the Word of God with proper respect and honor.  That reminds me of Psalm 1 a little!

In this psalm, we find the main idea in the major contrast that is presented between the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked; the former is laid out by God and the other is not.  Using the imagery of a flourishing tree in contrast to chaff that gets blown away, the way of God is presented as fruitful and lasting while the way without him as unproductive and finite.  The focus is on these two ways of living; one is under God's direction and wisdom, the other not.  It's not about individuals and whether or not they are good or bad.  The central theme of the psalm is the two ways of living.  Will we take God's wise way or will we go on our foolish own?

Remembering we are dealing with poetry, not prose, commands, or narrative helps us to keep the words of the psalm and our hearts in check.  So when we read lines like "whatever they do prospers," we know it's not a promise for following a formula.  Even the Bible highlights that bad things happen to good people and vice-versa!  Nor can we get puffed up and think, "At least I'm not like the wicked," because we know darn well that we aren't as righteous as the righteousness described in the opening verses.

Considering Psalm 1 within the full counsel of the Bible is helpful at this point.  This two-ways message is reiterated over and over again throughout the Bible.  God created us to be with him.  The story of the Bible is his unfolding plan to be with his people again as he was with Adam and Eve in the garden in Genesis 1 and 2.  Part of that plan was the provision of the law, to show his people what his way looks like and that they could be a light to the nations by living it.  To be frank, the law devastatingly (to human pride) revealed that there was no hope for them to walk in that way without complete dependence on the giver of the law.  The point was not to get the list of rules, obey them perfectly, and prove their worth to the Lord.  The point was to worship and fall into step with the way of the One who gave the law, that they might know the flourishing of a tree planted by streams of water that is fruitful and unwithering.  The coming of Christ to fulfill the law and be the way is the climax of the story.

About Worship

I woke up thinking about how to close these blog posts this year.  In the opening post I mentioned that the primary purpose of the psalms is liturgical, to guide us in worship.  Let's consider Psalm 1 from that perspective then.  Psalm 1 is not an us versus them psalm.  Psalm 1 is not a "live this way and you're guaranteed a prosperous earthly life" psalm.  Psalm 1 is not about instilling fear of a capricious God who will blow you away if you don't get it "right."

Psalm 1 certainly humbles us to the dust; we know we are incapable of constant meditation on the Scriptures and that our delight in God cannot be sustained by our own willpower.  Yet Psalm 1 also lifts up our heads; the Creator-King God loves us so much he shows us the way that we might enjoy the blessing of walking in it with him, now and eternally!  Psalm 1 is an invitation.  Psalm 1 is a gift.

You know how it opens "Blessed is ...?"  Well, I read once in reference to the beatitudes that it could be translated as congratulations!  "Congratulations to the one who walks in God's way!"   It's a way of joy, peace, hope, and flourishing.  Happy is the one who finds it, indeed.

To bring this ancient psalm into the present, lest we ever be tempted to pat ourselves on the back for being "righteous," our worship is reoriented when we remember that it was because God loved us and while we were still sinners that Christ - the Way, the Truth, and the Life - died for us to set us free from sin and send the Spirit to enable us to walk in His way.*  As it was for David, it is for us; to be a person after God's heart is a work He initiates, directs, and sustains.  All glory belongs to God!

Praise the Lord, Christian.  Worship him with wonder and delight!

If you believe, that was his work.

        If you walk in his way, that's his provision and protection.

                If you count yourself among the righteous, that is all to his credit.

Without the God who reveals the two ways, we're blind.  But when we hear about Him, learn of His way, and take Him at his word, He gives us hope, makes us righteous, and walks with us in His way.

The goal is not righteous living for righteous living's sake.  The end is our Creator-King Himself, who watches over His children on their way, helping them bear fruit as they abide in Him, and keeping their leaves green as they stay close to the river of life.

Lift up your head, dear one.  God has shown us the way of life and invites us into it because of his love for us.  His mercies are new every morning.  His faithfulness endures forever.

Enjoy Him and walking in His way!  And, while you're at it, why not invite a friend to join you?

                                               Heather

*I realize I'm assuming some knowledge here, feel free to get in touch if you have any questions!

How to Read the Psalms for all Their Worth

Hello and welcome!

This year you're invited to join me on a journey through Psalms as I outlined in the previous post.  I am really looking forward to learning and growing together as we take in this book of poetic prayer during 2023.  As we begin, it behooves us to consider the book as a whole so we know how to approach the genre, which will protect us from misunderstanding or misinterpretation.  Also, did you know that Psalms has a specific structure?  The editor(s) of the book put all of the psalms together intentionally. Finally, the book was written for the people of God in a particular time and place, which guides how we approach it as twenty-first-century Christians.  I don't want to make this blost* too long or academic, but the following are vital things to keep in mind so we not only read, but read well.**

The psalms are poetry.  Maybe you remember your poetry units in middle or high school English class.  I remember.  As a  concrete thinker, sometimes I had no idea what a poet was trying to say!  Thankfully, the language and imagery of the Hebrew psalms are not difficult to understand.  The real challenge, I believe, is accepting the invitation to surrender to the God they address!

Nevertheless, here are some helpful things to know about Hebrew poetry:

• Characterized by terseness, imagery, and parallelism  As you read you'll notice that much is communicated with few words, a lot of imagery is used, and ideas are reinforced or intensified by repetition and the use of synonyms or antonyms in successive lines.

• Not the Bible's overly-emotional "fluff"  The psalms are emotional and relational and teach us a lot about God (theology) and how to relate to him (formation).  So, as Dr. Abernathy of Wheaton College said in his lecture on 'The Composition and Organization of the Psalter' in class this fall, "Read to learn."

• Different types of psalms The psalms fall into three major categories: lament, hymn, and thanksgiving.  The reader must understand each on its own according to its genre.

Psalms is a structured book.  I grew up with the Bible, so I knew there were little subtitles in Psalms that said "Book I" and such, but I had never really cared to learn why.  Sidenote about me: I am not an investigator, because I'm impatient; thankfully, I married an investigator and he teaches me to take the time by being who he is.  It's also a good thing I'm back in school where they remind me not to overlook things!

Hebrew scholars organized Psalms into five of these "books" and they have a rough correlation with the history of Israel.  There's "increasing focus on God's kingship and wisdom post-exile, but not giving up on David's kingship" (Dr. Abernathy).  The book of Psalms as we know it was arranged after Israel returned from exile, but had been used in worship prior.  Books I (Ps 1-41) and II (Ps 42-72) focus on David's faithfulness, Book II (73-89) the experience of the exile, Book IV ( Ps 90-106) on wisdom and God's kingship, and, finally, Book V (Ps 107-150) David reappears and there's hope for the fulfillment of the kingdom.  The opening and closing psalms in the Psalter also communicate the message of the book; we'll hit more on that at another time.

The Psalms, Israel, God, and Us Perhaps the most important thing we must bear in mind as we read the Bible is that it was written to a specific people at a specific point in history.  Scripture also says it was inspired by God for us.  The psalms were "functional ... they served the crucial function of making a connection between the worshipper and God (Fee & Stuart 218)" individually and corporately.  While much more could be said, let us keep in mind that the primary purpose of the Psalms is liturgical.  That is a fancy word for worship.  May our hearts be open to what that means for each of us in our relationship with God and fellow believers.

As I sat with the Lord this morning and reread Psalms 1-3, I wrote,

The Psalms are nice but meaningless without the God of whom they speak.  Trust Him and you can tell Him anything. 

Don't be afraid to verbalize the questions Scripture brings.

Can't wait to see what God has in store for us as we read, study, and meditate on this poetic worship book He has given us!  The picture above is this month's image on a calendar of psalms that my neighbor gave me, unaware that I was starting this series.  How cool is that?

                                                            Heather

* If you're new here, I refer to blog posts as "blosts."  I have this ridiculous pet peeve about people calling a single post a blog but agree that it's nice to have a single word for a blog post.  Thus, "blost" was born!

**Pretty much all of what I share here I learned from lectures in BITH 533 from Wheaton College, fall 2022, and How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, by Fee and Stuart - a book we've had on our shelves since college that I finally read when it was assigned!  Really wish I would have read it sooner, but better "late" than never.

2023 in the Psalms

What did you do this fall?  Much of mine was spent "with" my Propel 7 Cohort in an online Wheaton College Old Testament course.  It was fantastic!  As the year draws to a close, I've been thinking particularly about how the class instilled in me the desire to spend more time in the Psalms.   It is easy for me to get academic and heady when it comes to reading Scripture, which I know is not entirely a bad thing.  Reading Psalms and learning more about the book got me thinking, though, about how much I'd like to connect with the Lord.  I'd love to be as spontaneous in my praise and crying out as so many people in the Bible and folks I know presently.  Pslams provides such useful language for communicating with God and also knowing more about his character and deeds.

Because I am a human, I benefit greatly from accountability.  Hopping back into the blogosphere like it's 2005 will offer me just that and give me an outlet for sharing what I'm learning and thinking about.  Over the last couple of years, I've been practicing embracing while managing my achieving personality, (any other Enneagram 3s out there?).  So, with a reminder to myself to proceed with grace, patience, and realistic expectations, I have a general plan for a series that will go through the whole year!

There are 150 Psalms.  To read through them in a year one needs only read a few a week!  That's what I'm going to do to move through them slowly.  I'll drag the blog and whoever reads this into the mix by writing a reflection on one of those psalms each week.  That's manageable, right?  Well, it may not be, only the Lord knows what this year has in store, but for now, I think it sounds reasonable and fun!  (Yes, fun is relative, I know - nerds gotta nerd.)  Oh yeah, and I'm also thinking of recording myself in my natural habitat reading each week's psalms for your listening pleasure; those would be a special social media feature.

Learning about Psalms and writing a couple of papers about two specific psalms this semester got me really excited about what these poetic pages of scripture have to offer us, whether we trust in the God of the Bible or not.  One crazy fact  I'll leave you with before closing is this: "Laments constitute the largest group of psalms in the Psalter, which in itself probably says something about our common humanity. There are more than sixty, including individual and corporate laments."  (How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth p 220)  Sixty out of one hundred fifty is forty percent!  This surprised and comforted me.  God is not unaware of our sorrows in this sin-ridden, challenging world and he doesn't tell us to "zip it," but rather to bring our laments before him.  Even this is an expression of faith, not failure or weakness.

I hope you'll join me on this loosely-structured, modifiable-as-needed 2023 adventure in Psalms!  May the Lord direct our hearts into his love and Christ's perseverance (2 Thessalonians 3:5).

                                              Heather

Christmas Tears

Beloved,  I do not know how this blog post "finds you."  I can tell you why I write and perhaps it will meet you right where you are today.  So far, Advent in our corner of the world has been marked with grief upon grief: pain, sickness, death, and sorrow.  That's the facts of the matter.  As lights have been hung, decorations placed, and gifts purchased, we have received too much sad news and been often in prayer for friends and family enduring trials we wish we could take from them - especially at Christmas time.

I'm not much of a public crier, but the tears well up in my alone times when I know the Lord is near and I entrust to Him those whose suffering I cannot relieve.  Over and over as my heart has ached this month, the Spirit brings to mind the phrase, "Christ is born." It has such immense significance this particular Christmas season.

Dare I say that true Christmas spirit can only be found kneeling at that manger-cradle?  Can we rejoice in an Advent that is breaking us?  Will we have hope in the promise that the child truly is the Wonderful Counserlor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace?  Is it possible for peace to flood our souls despite circumstances that batter us like storm waves the breakers?

The answer is yes.

"Christ is born" is the good news!  God saw; God sees; God comes!!

We won't always get explanations that satisfy, if ever. Until Jesus returns sin, sickness, and death will be part of life. But we can always, even in tears, speak truth to the darkness:

CHRIST. IS. BORN.

Thus, the light will shine a little brighter.  Hope is fanned back into flame.  Peace enables our souls to find some rest.  Joy unexpectedly percolates.

My beloved, when the Christmas tears come, let them flow and let them lead you to the One who has promised that one day He'll wipe away every tear.  Right now is the time for tears, not tears of despair but tears of longing for the fulfillment of all the promises set in motion when Christ was born.

One other thing I have noticed in this unusually sad Advent season is that the things in this world in which we can take great delight - because our God did create all things and call them good - have become more precious and worth fighting to enjoy and celebrate.  I see the sadness as sadder than ever before, but also the delightful as delightfuller than ever before.  As they say, God works in mysterious ways.  I trust He will the same in your life.

I leave you with this song and a prayer that "Christ is born" would be your ultimate comfort and joy this Christmas, in laughter and tears.

Merry Christmas,

Heather

New Glasses and the New Heaven & New Earth

I'm waiting on a new pair of glasses.

Photo by Josh Calabrese on Unsplash

At my appointment, when the eye doctor asked how my eyes had been, I hesitantly told her that I thought maybe something had changed, but wasn't sure if it was real or I was imaging it.  Eyes can be funny like that and (if I'm honest) I didn't want to look like an idiot if, in fact, my prescription was the same.  The exam revealed, however, that I do indeed need a slightly stronger prescription.  It was delightful to get a brief look through the lenses on the exam apparatus at how much clearer the world around me was about to be!

I'm pumped about the new glasses.

My daughter was with me at the appointment and helped me pick a new pair.  I don't really remember what they look like.  What excites me most is how much better I'm going to be able to see.  Every time I think about it I'm like, "Oh man, I hope they call today to tell us our glasses are ready!" despite the fact that that's completely unrealistic.  The process usually takes about two weeks.

My exctiment about new glasses may be irrational.

It feels like waiting for Christmas or my birthday or something, eagerly anticipating that maybe today will be the day they call for us to come pick up our new spectacles!  Though obviously they won't call today, becuase it's Sunday and they're not open.  Ha!

Fortunately, all this nervous energy is not a loss, because my ridiculous enthusiasm about these glasses did get me thinking about heaven.  Here's where my mind went a few days ago, shortly after another "I can't wait for my glasses" moment:

What if I anticipated the coming of the new heaven and the new earth

with the same energy as awaiting these new glasses?

Seriously, WHAT IF?

Jesus promised He is coming back.  The new heavens and the new earth will be like Eden restored.  I'll never have to have another eye doctor appointment.  Life won't be haunted by the reality of decay and death.   We'll see Christ in all His glory, God will dwell again with us, and none will struggle to walk by the Spirit.  I cannot even imagine it.  But oh, I want to more!

Guys, picture not having to wear glasses, go to the doctor, friction in relationships, nations at war, diseases running rampant, or even a worry in your heart?  The new heavens and the new earth will be like that!

Let's dispense of thinking of naked babies playing harps or even that we have to spend enternity singing hymns before the masssive throne of God. There are glimpses of the latter in Scripture; it's gonna be like that sometimes I think (because we'll just be busting with praise, each in their own language and cultural form - super cool).  But let's not miss the additional vision of the new heavens and new earth and the dwelling place of God among men again.  God is going to set all things right and really and truly make all things new.  All of life will be worship as He intended for us and it'll be glorious!

I wanna await that as eagerly as, no, MORE eagerly, than I await these silly glasses.

I'll likely need stronger glasses every time I visit the eye doctor for the rest of my life.  But one day, I'm gonna SEE-SEE, and it's gonna be beyond my wildest dreams!

What are you waiting for these days?  May God to use those fleeting moments of joy and anticipation to help us zealously anticipate the eternal, all-fulfilling, never-ending delight and wholeness coming our way through Jesus our Lord!*

For now we see only as a reflection in a mirror, but then face to face.

Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known.

1 Corinthians 13:12

*If you're not familiar with God's love and what He has done for us in Jesus.  Shoot me a message; I have good news for you!

Jesus is so Irritating!

Am I allowed to title a blost in that way?  I mean, can I tell the Lord that He is annoying?  It's not His fault, really.  He is simply busy being the Lord of my life and, unfortunately, I don't always appreciate that living under the Good News of what He's done for me means I can't just do and be whatever I want.  Here's where He's getting under my skin (under my sin?!) this week.  And, truth be told, I am very thankful for it!

Philippians 2:6-8 says this about Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

That's really awesome, right?  He was God, but made Himself nothing so that we could be reconciled to God by His death and resurrection when we believe in Him.  That's the Gospel Christians talk about and celebrate.

But guess what Paul says to the believers in Philippi just before that, in verse 5?

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

[crickets, or maybe an expletive if that's more your style]

I have been thinking a lot about how polarized people feel/are right now and how heavy everything seems.  As someone who often sees the value, even if just in part, of people's perspectives on both sides of an issue, it grieves me a lot to see so much posting of trite memes and sarcastic one-liners, in general, but especially by fellow believers.  It's easy and makes us feel good, but we have to call it what it is: wrong and dishonoring to our God and fellow image-bearers.

In the verses above what I read is this: Jesus had every right to be a trite meme and sarcastic one-line poster in His day!  He knows what's in the heart of man (John 2:24) and He knew His own righteousness; He knew how often people came to Him for selfish reasons and personal gain, but not to love Him. He alone in the history of mankind had the "right" to judge everyone He met.  And what did He do?

He served.  He died.

He looked over the crowds and had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:36)

I guess in one sense, He did make a judgment about them.  But it was motivated by compassion (love) which protected Him from writing them off as a bunch of idiots.  You poor fools lost in your sin!

This is how God directed my thinking yesterday as I vacuumed my kitchen - yup, our kitchen is carpeted; it's silly! - while trying to process all the information and opinions I have encountered on social media and in the news this week in light of the evil at work in our world.  Living in the era of social media and quick access to information, no matter how true or incomplete, fuels our natural tendency to make rash judgments (not to mention fools of ourselves)!  All of us do, whether we post about it to let the world know or simply hide it in our hearts, pridefully smug.  I, too, form opinions and am quickly tempted to write off certain people or groups as hopeless at best, or unredeemable at worst.  Can you relate?  I imagine some of them may feel the same about me!

But not Christ.

The only One who could have pronounced judgment, instead made Himself the way to be rescued from it!  And Paul reminds the Philippians and those of us to walk with Jesus in 2021:

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

 

What must we do with our hard, judgmental hearts when they act up? Go straight back to the primary message of the kingdom of God: repent and believe the good news!  That is the Word of God to those responding to Christ for the first time to those who have known His salvation for decades.  This is surrender to His will.

Find yourself out of step with His will, casting judgment on others?

Repent and believe the good news.

Christian, you and I have been made new!  The made-new listen to the Spirit, confess the sin to their loving Father, and remember the risen Savior and the glorious work He has done in their lives.  All this reminds us of how eager we are for others to know this freedom: from sin and also the freedom from needing to play God and decide if people are worthy or not.  He says they are!

But wait, there's more! The Lord also shows us His way and transforms us into people of compassion, people who speak life, people who reflect the light of Christ in the world, people who model their relationships with others according to the mindset of Christ.

Thank goodness He provokes us by His Spirit to get us back to Him.

Praise God with me today that Jesus is so irritating!