“Do not judge, so that you will not be judged.”
Matthew 7:1, LSB
We are a people called to discernment. We are not meant to look down on another in error, but this does not mean that we should be silent when faced with things that are contrary to the Word of God and the Christian faith. Jesus’ words were not a call to silence, but a call to humility. Jesus called out the prideful. He called out those who thought of themselves as righteous. Jesus also called all to repent and to be obedient to the Father. His words drew from the Word and in His words were correction. Judgment was not central to the message. This wasn’t because Jesus denied that there would be a judgment but because the rejection of the promise was a sign of the judgment already present. Not one of us walks outside of God’s judgment. We all are deserving of His wrath. In Christ, we receive mercy. Our words are not meant to be covered in self-righteous talk but of the hope of our Lord. Not one of us deserves the blessings we receive from our Lord and as we humbly walk in this knowledge our hearts will seek to be less critical of another but more loving with the hope of restoration for all people in Christ Jesus. When we speak the truth in love we carry the words of peace and, in Christ’s peace, we are called to live.
Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.