“He That Judgeth Me”

At the end of the day, the Lord evaluates and determines our faithfulness.

“Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord” (I Corinthians 4:2-4).

This truth should both encourage and challenge us. We can be sure of a perfectly assessed appraisal of our reception, assimilation and application of God’s grace and truth. He sees us both within and without, including our attitudes and actions. This cannot be said of people, who may misunderstand the whys and wherefores of our lives, and thus criticize us when we are worthy of affirmation, or perhaps worse, affirm us when we are worthy of criticism. We can be sure of no such misguided judgment by the God of whom Solomon declared, “The ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He pondereth all his goings” (Proverbs 5:21).

No genuine act of faith and obedience as enabled by the Holy Spirit will be overlooked, regardless of how small and seemingly insignificant. Interestingly, the Apostle Paul writes of the judgment seat of Christ, whereupon the works of believers will be evaluated, that “every man shall have praise of God” (I Corinthians 4:5). This does not mean that every Christian will be commended for a life of faithfulness at the judgment seat. “If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire” (I Corinthians 3:15). It does mean, however, that our Heavenly Father will find something of His Son to affirm in each of His Christ-redeemed, inhabited and enabled people.

On a more solemn note, no insincerity or lack of genuineness will pass the test of God’s purifying fire. We may fool people. We cannot fool God, either in this life, or at the judgment of our works to come. We thus do well to devote ourselves to honesty with our Lord and with ourselves, seeking His ongoing motivation and enabling to “walk in the light, as He is in the light” (I John 1:7). Only the Holy Spirit can purify both our intentions and our actions, and we can be sure that this comprises a primary aspect of His working in our hearts.

Finally, Paul did not completely discount the opinions of ourselves, as held by fellow Christians. “It is a very small thing that I should be judged of you.” We have a place of discernment in each others’ lives, and God does use us to help one another along the path of righteousness. We should consider it a “very small” place, however, and one exercised with great caution, and even more, great humility.

The lives we lived as believers subsequent to our salvation will be judged by One whose perfect Eyes shine forth from a perfect Heart. Let us rejoice with great joy that we will be evaluated in perfect fairness. And, let us consider with great solemnity that we will be evaluated with that same perfect fairness.

“Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.” (I Corinthians 4:5)

“Love Story”

   The human race loves love stories.  Whether told first hand to each other, or in printed literature, or on the screens of television, the movies, and now, the computer, we love the idea and portrayal of romance, affection, devotion, commitment and the sharing of life.  Solomon long ago spoke to this truth.

     “There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not: the way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid”  (Proverbs 30:18-19; emphasis added).

     Love fascinates us because the God who “is love” created the human race in His image (I John 4:8).  Thus, we were made for love, that is, to be loved by God, to love Him in response, and to love each other as the fruit of Christ’s unselfish presence within our hearts. 

    “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (I John 4:10).

     "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.  This is the first commandment.  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (Mark 12:30-31).

     “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us” (Romans 5:5).

     Sin distorts our understanding, assimilation and expression of love, as defined by God (the only definition that matters).  We think of it primarily in terms of emotion, mentality and physical expression until we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thereby discover the essence of love to be a spiritual reality.   “God is love” declared the Apostle John, revealing the origin and heart of love to exist in and as our Creator (I John 4:8; 16).  Until we know this, we really do not know love.  Moreover, only as we grow in knowledge and application of the truth that God is love will we experience the genuine reception and expression of this most sublime feature of His character.

“When I think of love, my blessed Lord, I only ponder Thee.

For true love shines only in the face

of the Christ of Calvary.”

      

     Every experience of true love we have ever known resulted from God’s origination and bestowal (regardless of the vessel or means by which we received such a gift).  Every experience of authentically loving flowed within and through us by the power of Christ’s selfless presence within us.  “Without Me, ye can do nothing” (John 15:5).  Rightly understood and apprehended, therefore, love drives us to our knees and faces to worship the living and true God whose very essence comprises the wellspring of love’s otherness.  Love then raises us up to become the conduit through which our Lord’s winsome character and nature flows to our particular sphere of influence. 

     The love story of the ages and of eternity sings only of the God who forever dwells in the triune devotion of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit loving each other in the perfection of selfless devotion.  This is love in its essence, to be known forevermore as God, and God alone.  Wondrously, however, the trusting heart is drawn into the story of such glory through the redeeming grace of the Lord Jesus, whereby we receive and then distribute God’s love by His Spirit’s indwelling presence.  This is love, this is The Story, and this is the reality of this moment and forevermore for all who, when thinking of love, think of God.

“And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God.”

(II Thessalonians 3:5)

“And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

(John 17:26).

“The Glory Is Greater”

    “Charity… hopeth all things” (I Corinthians 1:4; 7).

     Born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ do not fail to acknowledge the Bible’s plain declaration that “the whole world lieth in wickedness” (I John 5:19).  We see another and greater reality, however, whereby our hearts are kept from despair and filled with hope…

     “The whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3).

    We glance, as it were, at the wickedness.  We gaze upon the glory.  “We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (II Corinthians 4:18).  No greater challenge of faith confronts us than this determination to view the unseen eternals amid the all too obvious temporals.  Especially in our generation wherein the world foists its notions and commotions upon us by a 24/7 media, we find ourselves constantly faced with the utter necessity of a 24/7 remembrance that, appearances to the contrary, history is His Story.

     The cross of the Lord Jesus provides the clearest insight into this hope-inspiring truth.  Never before or since has the fact of the world’s wickedness been as scandalously displayed as on that dark day at Calvary when the innocent Lamb of God was slaughtered by evil hearts and bloody hands.  Political and religious leaders, representing the entire human race, perpetrated the crime of the ages, and the clearest confirmation that the world  “lieth in wickedness.”  More importantly, however, never before or since has the glory of God been more brightly and vividly revealed than on that same dark day when the Light of the world shone forth with that singular and unquenchable beacon of hope: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

    At present, wickedness and glory coexist in the world.  But glory is greater.  By an infinite measure, the glory is greater, and if we will open the eyes of our heart, we will see the unseen.  Yes, we will remember and believe that a cruel and bloody Cross speaks far more of the love of God than the evil of man.  Again, we do not deny the latter.  We nevertheless emphasize the former, and thus become those in whom the Holy Spirit elicits hope in “all things.”  A sad and dark world awaits such Light as it shines forth from the lamp of our Christ-filled hearts and Spirit-inspired testimony.  May our Heavenly Father send us forth in this day to proclaim that the glory, His glory, is greater.

“Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world.”

(I John 4:4)