Thursday Reading: John 8:12-16
Key Verse: John 8:16
16 And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I and the Father who sent Me.
Key Verse: John 8:16
16 And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I and the Father who sent Me.
Devotion:
I find it remarkable that Christ was willing to stand up and talk to all these scribes and Pharisees even though they were actually trying to get Him cornered so that they could discredit Him. Can you imagine going into a room and being grilled by people who do not like you; having to answer questions fired at you designed to trip you up. If we were in that circumstance, most of us would turn to a few “white lies” to help us along the way, or at least turn away from the truth so that we could get off the hook. But Jesus continued to answer each question posed to Him with the truth.
I find it remarkable that Christ was willing to stand up and talk to all these scribes and Pharisees even though they were actually trying to get Him cornered so that they could discredit Him. Can you imagine going into a room and being grilled by people who do not like you; having to answer questions fired at you designed to trip you up. If we were in that circumstance, most of us would turn to a few “white lies” to help us along the way, or at least turn away from the truth so that we could get off the hook. But Jesus continued to answer each question posed to Him with the truth.
But more than that… He stated that He did not judge people in that way that we do. Verse 15 states “You judge after the flesh, I judge no one.” This is immediately followed by the statement that if He did judge, it would be just. In other words, He was willing to stand there and answer questions without judging them for the way they asked, what they asked or why they asked. He was willing to be totally open and honest whilst they continued to hide behind their veils of deceit!
As long as we are willing to admit that Christ is our Saviour and that He alone is the light of the world, then we are walking towards the light. No longer should we fight amongst ourselves in the dark because He has given us the light, has shown us the light and continues to let it shine for all to see. Whilst He was on earth as a human, He continued to spread the Gospel. Now that He is in heaven, He continues to spread the Gospel through the Holy Spirit and through us. There is no way that we will ever understand His ways fully because we are not capable of thinking that far! There is no way that we will ever stop judging others, because we live in a world where we are all taught to judge one another. Is it any wonder then that we loose sight of our God?
We need to stop and realise just what we are doing before it is too late. He continues to wait for us to do exactly that…
Points to Ponder:
Have you thought about the things that people may dislike about you?
Have you thought about the things that people may dislike about you?
Have you thought about the things that God would dislike in your life?