paradoxum

God is not a fast talker. He speaks to us – of that there is no doubt – but unlike me, he thinks before he speaks. He is like my wife. He doesn’t jabber on and on about lots of nothing. No, when he speaks, it’s well thought out, deep, and his Word is powerful enough to penetrates even the deafest of ears.

Today, he spoke to me and showed me the message he has been communicating to me for almost five years:

“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.”

Jesus, forgive me. I could cry a river of tears over my sin. Who was I to sit behind the judge’s bench and exalt myself as the judge of all mankind? I carry in my heart the sin that fell from heaven and stained the earth. I have condemned myself in others.

I am the religious Pharisee, the arrogant minister, the rigid fundamentalist, the unloving conservative, the intolerant bigot, the omniscient theologian, the addict, the liar, the murderer, the ignorant fool, the exploiter of the innocent, the absent father, the cheating husband, the immoral, the impure, the unholy, the sinner, the traitor, the gossiper, the abuser, the indulger, the filthy talker, the self-sufficient one, the self-righteous one…I am…the damned.

I have turned away from you. I have become worthless. My throat is an open grave. My tongue is full of lies and bitterness. I do not fear you.

But you, O God, are rich in mercy.

You, the Merciful One, became the merciless Pharisee. You, the Mighty One, became weak and despicable. You, the Pure One, became utterly impure and filthy. God, the pure, became God the filthy…I can scarcely take this into my heart. The lover of all men became the hater of all and…in becoming all the hate that we are…he loved us to the end!

I am speechless. You have shut our mouths Father. We are silent before the cross. We are silent before the tomb…waiting…for you to break the silence. And broke it you did! On that beautiful Sunday morning 2,000 years ago, all creation sang in the Kingdom! The Son of the Father…the one in Whom you were well pleased…your only begotten Son defeated the powers of death and hell and triumphed over them!!! He walked out of that tomb, the victorious Lion of the tribe of Judah…the victorious Lamb of God…the KING of Creation! In him, all things were set right. In him the Kingdom has come!

And…in Him, I died. In Him, I arose. In Him, I ascended to the right hand of God the Father Almighty! In Him, I am the chosen of God. In Him, I am holy. In him, I am the beloved. In him, I am one with the Father.

In Him, I am not who I am. In Him, I am Him…for I am His and He is mine and He has made me a partaker of His divine nature. In Him, I will never die. In Him I will reign. In Him, I am not a god, for that is not a lofty enough title for one who is in Him. I am a Saint. I am a Brother. I am a Friend. I am a Bride. I am a Co-Heir. I am a Son. I am a Child.

And so, to all those whom I have condemned, please know that I was condemned with you on that cross…in Him. Please know that I lay in that grave with you…in Him. Please know that I rose from the dead with you…in Him. Oh brothers and sisters please know that I sit in the heavens with you…in Him. I am one with you and gladly call you my brother, my sister, my friend and I rejoice in the beauty of God in you. The gavel has been broken…the judgment has been passed and the punishment meted out. You are not guilty, nor am I. We are one, for we are in Him.

In Him, there is no condemnation….NONE.

Where are your accusers? Are they gone?

Yes, I am gone. The stones have been turned into the bread of His body.

And Jesus, says, “I do not condemn you either. Go now, and leave your life of sin.”

Amen.