Many potent meditation stops caught my eye this morning. Eventually verses 4-5 drew me in to time with Jesus today.
My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts….
My conscience is a gift from God, that impulse from within not to do certain things that do not honor God. But as the first sentence reminds me, my conscience, like all of me, has been corrupted by sin and can lead me astray as well. It is so easy for me to say, “Hey, I’m clean, I’m good, I’m okay before God”. Verse 4 cries to me… not so fast. My conscience [may be] clear, but that does not make me innocent.
Lord God, this is why regular confession and times of self evaluation are good and necessary but even they are no guarantee… I always rest on Your Grace. Always.
So if I cannot, with 100% accuracy, judge even my own self, I have to be doubly careful when it come to judging others. Why? Because I only know in part and I cannot ever judge motives with clarity. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts…. Only God can judge with perfect clarity. I must never forget this… NEVER.
Two pretty good reminders for today…
Lord, may I have Your grace and Holy Spirit unction to live out the truth seen today in Your Word! I offer You my day… to advance Your Kingdom, to serve at Your beckon call and to sit at Your feet to learn. I pray this through Jesus, Master, Lord and Rabbi. Amen.
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