The Verdict Is In: The Justice of God — Friday
Psalm 89:14
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you. (NIV)
Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a foodie. I’ll try any food once, even twice. Don’t bother asking me what my favorite food is—whatever I’m eating at that moment is my favorite food. There’s nothing I won’t eat; even if I don’t like something, that’s not a good enough reason not to eat it. I grew up in a house with a strong Southern Appalachian heritage, and food was a huge part of our upbringing. Everyone in my family can cook and does cook. Every family gathering becomes a veritable competition of epicurean one-upmanship.
The pinnacle of our culinary contention transpires every summer. Several years ago, one of my brothers challenged the rest of us to a burger cookoff. There are loose guidelines to allow for maximum creativity. The main objective: Who can cook the best burger? My siblings begin prepping months, if not years, in advance—researching, experimenting, and finessing their gastronomic concoctions. The biggest variables outside of our control are the judges who come to taste our burgers and choose a winner. Every year, we debate on who should judge us, and we come up with new rules and standards for judging as well as creative ways to calculate their scores. Unfortunately, the only time the judges have judged correctly are the years I’ve won.
In our sinful nature, we are separated from God. Much like my family’s burger competition, we want to be our own judges by rewriting the laws and standards that will be used to judge us and others. However, it takes an all-knowing and all-seeing God to judge the world in a way that tips the scales of justice toward a completely unbiased outcome. Jesus said, “For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son… I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me” (John 5:22, 30 ESV). Jesus is both the judge and the standard by which we are judged. As intimidating as that may feel for us, it’s a reality we can also find comfort in and be grateful for—because we can rest assured that, no matter what, His judgments are trustworthy.
Friday’s Reflection
“God will bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time to judge every deed” (Ecclesiastes 3:17). Why is Jesus the only unbiased judge we have? How does the reality of Christ as our judge comfort you?