Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

Love and judgment

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

John 5:29
Jesus said to the Jewish leaders, "The hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out: those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation."

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/031313.cfm

A powerful hermeneutic (one method or strand of interpretation) when studying a Bible story or passage is to ask myself whether or not God is at least as loving as the most loving person I know. If it appears that God is not, then I might be wrong in my understanding of the story or passage.

Jesus called the Master of the Universe, Abba. He knew how much Father God loved his children. So when Jesus speaks of this resurrection of condemnation, what is he saying about God?

The word translated as "condemnation" is sometimes translated as "damnation," sometimes as "judgment." The Greek word used here, krisis, comes from the verb "to separate, distinguish, or judge."

As you might have guessed, our word "crisis" is a direct descendant of krisis. One definition of crisis seems helpful: "a point in a situation when conflict reaches its highest tension and must be resolved."

Why do we so quickly decide that God's resolution is to send some of us, maybe most of us, into hell? We are not the do-good folks Jesus is talking about, at least I don't think so. My good deeds are far outweighed by my selfishness, and I'm hardly alone.

Another thought ... why do we so quickly decide that "believing" the words of Jesus is enough to qualify as "good deeds"? Regardless of the fruit in my life? And if the fruit does matter, how much fruit?

I know ... this is the stuff from which church splits come, and Crusades get fought, and people are beheaded or burned at the stake, or at least pilloried by their peers. These words of Jesus have been interpreted and re-interpreted for twenty-plus centuries, and I don't pretend to understand them very well.

What I do insist on in myself, however, is that I remember God's love - his unconditional love for all of us, every one - and include that "hermeneutic" in my thoughts and prayers about John 5:29.

Can I trust you, Lord, to love me? Lords and masters on earth often do not love their subjects. Are you really different, and if you are, what does that mean to me? I am not trustworthy, but you are. I am not good, but you are. I barely know myself, but you know me through and through. I depend utterly on your love.

Devotions Archive

Love and judgment

Wednesday, March 13, 2013