Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Judgments and Stumbling Blocks

"For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. It is written: 'As surely as I live', says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God'. So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgement on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way." Romans 14:9-13
How convicting is this scripture? How guilty am I? Our family has been dealing with some spiritual issues as of late and I have found myself passing judgement, but also having judgement passed on me. I have been a stumbling block, but have also tripped over a block placed in my path several times in the last few months. Are any of us innocent? Do we even acknowledge, or for that matter, even realize when we have done this and to whom we must answer? We are all brother's and sister's in Christ and just like any siblings we are different: our personalities, our emotions, how we handle anger, the way we worship or even the very way we pray. Who am I to tell you that you are wrong, and if I sincerely feel that you are in error am I trying to see your difference and work with that instead of passing judgment. God calls us to love each child of Christ in spite of the differences and quirkiness. We have no place to pass judgement on others. We will all stand at the judgement seat and Christ will give us an account of our judgements and the stumbling blocks that we placed before others. Are we loving? Are we accepting and seeking to further our fellow Christ follower's journeys or are we simply choosing to judge a given situation as hopeless and turning our backs for greener pastures and leaving a spiritual stumbling block in our wake?

3 comments:

Shelley said...

very well said.

dean said...

sometimes turning away from a given situation is the only thing a person can do... and this can be done without passing judgment. sometimes staying in a situation only worsens things, or prolongs the anger or bitterness. walking away from it, even if just for a season is often the remedy.

in acts 15 paul and barnabas parted ways over whether or not to take mark along with them, but later paul was able to see that mark was a valuable asset to the ministry (2 Tim 4:11). sometimes only time can heal certain wounds.

Jim said...

HEY!!

Hope you and family have a marvelous Christmas! We miss ya'll! Hope all is great!

I'm hearing words like 'house church'! Fill me in....

Here's my email:

jwhaley@iocc.com