Judgment… Long black robes…the stern face of the person who has the final say. No…that’s the judge. What about judgeMENT? Never mind the WHO of it (God is The Who)….what about the IT…judgement….
Scripture tells the story of how the nation of Israel, who had been called out as a special people for a special purpose, got so settled into their cushy life that judgment fell on them. God had warned… “…when The Lord your God brings you into the land…..to give you ..houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide….when you eat and are satisfied…be careful that you do not forget the Lord Who brought you out….do not follow ..the gods of the peoples around you…the Lord commanded us …so that we might always prosper…’ (Deut. 6 scattered verses )
God is still the same God. His character has not changed. His mind has not changed. He is still holy and just. And He still metes out judgment in order to accomplish His purposes. He still warns us from the pages of scripture and the circumstances of our life.
“My soul yearns for You in the night, in the morning my spirit longs for You. When Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.” (Isa. 26:9) WHEN Your judgments come, not if….
The Babylonian army came. Life was dramatically changed. They were no longer free, but under tyranny and slavery. They lost their homes, everything they called ‘mine’ …was no longer.
“Lord, they came to You in their distress…when you disciplined them..” (Isa. 26:16) When disaster strikes and tragedy unfolds, we seem always to call Him then.
“Oh, God !!” we cry. And because He is The God of perfect Love, He still hears…
The judgment comes often BECAUSE of His love. The final judgment will also come. And because He is the perfect Holy God…when time is no more, it will be too late to cry out to Him. People…let’s look for His judgment now. Let’s see His Hand at work in the world around us. Let’s look hard to see His Fingerprints on our life and on our circumstances. He is God. And we are not. He is all powerful. We have only what He gives.
I have no fear for my eternal destiny. But I am fearful of the hardships that may lay ahead for us and for our children’s children if we do not return to Him. “IF my people, who are called by My Name…” That is me. And you, if you call yourself a follower of Christ. I don’t care about your ‘church’ label. If you belong to Christ….we must ‘humble ourselves”…lest He humble us ! We must ‘seek His Face’….and stop seeking only His Hand’s blessing ! We must examine ourselves and not just others….we must ‘turn from OUR wicked ways’ …
“Have mercy upon us, O God…” (Ps. 51:5)
