“For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:2
A few years after I met Jesus, I forgot all about the pit I had been rescued from. Walking with Him was the equivalent to walking on mountaintops compared to where He had found me, and in a short while I began to act like I had always been there. I became suspicious of people’s intentions, annoyed by their presence and disgusted by their behavior. I had become high minded and justified in my criticism.
And then I fell, more like tumbled, over and over down the mountain. Each accusation which I knew to be completely true, felt like bouncing off jagged edges until I was kneeling in dust, covered in bruises, cowering in fear.
It was then I was spoken to through the Bible, John 8, where Jesus is brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, her sin now on display for all to see. I imagined she and I shared a very similar sense of shame, as both our communities looked on and called down condemnation. The passage says Jesus told the crowd they without sin may cast the first stone, and then turned toward the ground. One by one, they dropped their rocks and walked away. “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? Then neither do I. Go and leave your life of sin.” I broke down as the display of mercy barrelled into my heart, knocking my judgemental attitude to the ground. I had been simultaneously convicted and uplifted. I still carry some scars from that fall, and they remind me that radical mercy changed more in me than judgement ever could. Today, we yield judgement and open ourselves to the mercy Jesus demonstrated.
Reflection
Of what have you become overly critical and unyielding in judgement?
What areas of your life do you need to experience mercy?
Prayer
Lord your word says that any who practice judgement without mercy will be shown the same, and that You judge by a law that gives freedom. Forgive me for standing in condemnation of Your creation, holding them bondage to their circumstances and behavior after You died so that they might be free. Remind me often that one display of mercy accomplishes more than 100 displays of judgement. Thank you for your abundant compassion, and never tiring of pouring out grace on your people. Amen
