GOD IS MY JUDGE -- Devotional for August 4, from "Good Seeds"

But to me it is a very small thing that I should be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord. Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait for the Lord. (I Corinthians 4:3-5)

We must not let others tell us who we are or how much we are worth, for they just plain don’t know. They may overstate or undervalue, but they won’t get it right. It’s just their opinion, of course, but in such a matter don’t we want the truth? Even our self-knowledge is riddled with opinion. Socrates said, “Know thyself,” but who does, really? Others can be of help, seeing and pointing out our blind spots from their particular vantage point. Still, there is only One who sees all and knows all, and that is our Lord. The Gaithers wrote these beautiful lyrics: “I am loved, I am loved, and the One who knows me best loves me most.” That could only be God, right? – for on the human level usually the more we get to know someone the harder it is to love him. With people knowledge hinders love more than helping it. Maybe that’s why we say, “Love is blind." But this is not the case with God. Knowing our every sin and flaw, He still maintains His high view of our worth, regardless of what others – even we ourselves – might think of us. Another song says, “I am not worthy the least of His favor, but Jesus left heaven for me.” Surely it was His great love, not my great loveliness, that made Him come down to walk with me, and rescue me. It was all of His gentle grace, manifested on the cruel cross -- all of Him, nothing of me. He is the altogether worthy One! And yet, when Jesus watched with compassion as an insignificant little sparrow fell to the earth, He said, “Are you not of greater worth than many sparrows?” (Matthew 10:29-31). If Jesus dictates my worth in such terms, I must not let others, no matter how well-meaning, dictate my flaws and failures to me. If I am right before God – and He will let me know if I am not by the still small voice of His Spirit – then I must not give audience to those who may have unknowingly become the mouthpiece for “the accuser of the brethren” (A vividly descriptive name for the devil – see Revelation 12:10). If it is my sole desire to please God in my work and in my worship – and only He knows the deepest motive of the heart – then it matters little what someone else may think. If he doesn’t like what I am doing, maybe it is his problem and not mine! He stands or falls before God alone, just as I do. God will do His business with him, even as He does it with me, and I don’t think God needs or wants my help in judging the work and worth of another, or his in evaluating me and mine.