Judging the Heart

     I came to a horrible realization the other day: Not everyone is saved. As much as I would like everyone to be saved, they are not -- not everyone I know, not even everyone in my family, is saved and will go to heaven. I recall an argument with a dear friend of mine... let's call him "Bill."

Bill: Everyone in my family is saved.

Me: But the actions of some people in your family don't bear any fruit. Maybe some aren't saved.

Bill: You can't judge their hearts. They're all good people.

Me: You're right, only God can judge their hearts, but I can judge their actions. They may do good things, but that doesn't indicate salvation. And some of them don't bear any good fruit at all.

Bill: I know for a fact that as a part of this family, everyone is a Christian.

Me: You just said, 'Man cannot judge the heart." Isn't that statement a judgement in and of itself also? I cannot judge their hearts and say, "They are not saved," but you cannot judge them either saying, "They are saved."

Bill: I'm not condemning them!

     Then I realized the opposite was true. My friend Bill refused to acknowledge the very real possibility of some people in his family not being born-again Christians. Because of this, he was the one condemning his family -- condemning his family to the possibility of going to hell for all eternity. How is this so? No one witnesses to a person who they think is saved. By refusing to take any action on the possibility that there may be lost members of his family, Bill is doing the equivalent of condemning them to hell -- he is withholding the life-giving message of salvation from those members of his family.

     Now, this does not mean that if one is uncertain of someone's salvation they must beat them over the head with a Bible until they repent. But it does mean that one must make an effort to be a witness through words and deeds. Make your life a living witness (it should be already because of the light we Christians hold within us regardless of if we're "trying to reach" somebody.)

     This whole experience, made me realize it is safer to assume someone is not a Christian until they have thoroughly -- through words and actions -- proved themselves to be one. Otherwise, I will be lulled into a sleepy state of being a non-witness because I won't care who is watching me: "everyone is a Christian, who cares what I'm doing." What makes this even sadder is that it shouldn't matter who is watching me or not; God is always watching me, I should act in a way that glorifies Him because it pleases Him.

     As Christ's messengers on earth, it is our job as Christians to spread the gospel to all corners of the world. This includes the little nooks and crannies in our personal circles and families. We must be living witnesses of God's glory: being both a caring spirit of conviction and a life-giving witness of hope through the power and spirit of Jesus Christ.

The Dying Christian to His Soul

 

      I've been working on a research paper about the death and resurrection of Lazarus. After praying and meditating on that passage (John 11),

I began to think about how Christ has provided victory over death. Setting aside His great resurrection from the death; Jesus took the time to raise to life the beloved brother of Martha and Mary.

     What's more, Jesus tells Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life." Not only does Jesus provide eternal life through His resurrection, but He IS life. Christians have a hope and joy that no other people can understand. We have the hope of life after death -- eternal life with the God we worship -- where there will be no more pain or suffering.

     This is a poem by Alexander Pope that I felt described this feeling well...

The Dying Christian to His Soul

Vital spark of heav’nly flame!
Quit, O quit this mortal frame:
Trembling, hoping, ling’ring, flying,
O the pain, the bliss of dying!
Cease, fond Nature, cease thy strife,
And let me languish into life.

Hark! they whisper; angels say,
Sister Spirit, come away!
What is this absorbs me quite?
Steals my senses, shuts my sight,
Drowns my spirits, draws my breath?
Tell me, my soul, can this be death?

The world recedes; it disappears!
Heav’n opens on my eyes! my ears
With sounds seraphic ring!
Lend, lend your wings! I mount! I fly!
O Grave! where is thy victory?
O Death! where is thy sting?

The TRUTH Shall Set You Free

This was inspired by a section in my devotional (Cynthia Heald's Becoming a Woman of Freedom) that I found very profound after mulling these verses over...

John 8:31-32
     "So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, 'If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.'"

"What did Jesus mean by truth? How does it set us free?"

The truth is the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ: that in understanding Him and gaining a deeper and deeper relationship with THE TRUTH we shall know and love God better. This understanding will set us free. Free from the eternal bondage of sin. Free to learn and do righteousness for the glory and pleasure of our Lord. In this we are now free.

"But what is the nature of our freedom? It is not release from all restraint. It is not license to indulge our sinful nature. Our freedom is the freedom to 'serve one another in love.' It is possible to do so, because the Holy Spirit enables us to act in ways that are contrary to the natural impulses of our sinful nature. Walking by the Spirit, we are released from the old master that produces hatred, jealousy, fits of rage, envy, and such. We are released to be loving, patient, kind, faithful and good." -Lawrence O. Richards

It is the work of Jesus Christ that sets us free. Growing and  FULLY understanding this takes a lifetime (and then some) but the beginning of this understanding brings about true freedom in Christ. Freedom to perform His will in our lives to the best of our ability.