Stepping Out of the Bench

Those who counsel peace have joy. Proverbs 12:20

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9

"I'm pretty sure when Jesus said 'love your enemies' he meant 'don't kill them.'" - Shane Claiborne

REFLECTION:

If you were appointed a court judge today, would you take the job?

I don't think I would.

I am painfully aware that my judgments are imperfect. People have surprised me too many times. People I thought were trustworthy have had moments of failure. People I thought were trouble have had moments of beauty and grace. The longer I live, the more I am convinced that we are all simply trying to make it the best we know how, and our judgments of each other always end up capturing only part of the story. And what's worse, when I treat them a certain way based on that only-partial story, it further complicates things.

While this might seem a strange direction to go when both of the passages above are about peace, it is the first place my head and heart went this morning when reading those passages...the heart of peace is daily fighting to let go of judgment.

Now, obviously, we will never do this perfectly or completely. New judgments will slip in...it's part of our biological makeup; assess threats and avoid them. But, I believe as Christians, we cannot give up in the daily battle against our imperfect judgments, laying them at the foot of the one perfect judge instead.

I truly believe this is the place to start for peace...

Peace between political movements...
Peace between family members estranged...
Peace between friends separated by disagreements...
Peace that allows us to have compassion and mercy on each other, recognizing that 99% of the people you know are simply trying to do the best they can with the resources they have.

So today, my prayer is for peace...certainly for peace internationally...but I believe that peace begins with an army of people who know how to daily yearn for and ask for peace internally.

So, let's be part of that army. Breathe deep. Ask God to help you let go of any resentments you are carrying. Ask God to remove your judgments of others and see them as fellow people who are doing their best. Ask God to help you lay down the gavel and step out of the bench...let's let God be the perfect judge today, and leave that work to him. It will free up our minds and hearts for the things we know how to do well.

PRAYER:
Dear Heavenly Father, our King, help us to remember that bestowing your peace and love on our enemies is more important than personal vengeance. Strengthen us so that we may truly become your children. In Jesus’ name, Amen.