Judgment

           Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” (John 9:39)     

          In spite of our “inclusive” and “accepting” society, there is still a tendency to respond to those who are other than a “perfect” specimen with a mixture of pity and judgmental curiosity, wondering what they did to deserve their fate. Historically, that sense was more socially acceptable. “Who sinned?” the disciples asked Jesus about a blind man.

          Even when the blindness is spiritual, few of us want to be included in the category of the blind. No, we see. We understand. We’re not as stupid as those folks, who believe (insert belief). One of the automatic responses we tend to have is to believe that we are not blind. We may have been once, but we aren’t now. Those folks are. How dare you judge us? Didn’t Jesus teach us “Judge not, that ye be not judged?” To ask the question, we must judge the one we accuse as being guilty, thus breaking the commandment to not judge.

          The problem is, even if we refuse to judge, that doesn’t mean that Jesus will withhold judgment. He makes it clear that He came to judge. He declares that those who place their trust in Him will be saved, and those who don’t, will not. But He also gives us principles by which to live, and we have no choice but to stand in judgment of those principles, and of the One who gave them. We can accept or reject. If we reject and declare ourselves to be righteous, we are blind to their benefit. We do not become blind, we already are. Jesus doesn’t condemn us to blindness, He diagnoses our malady.

          This is no different from the issue of salvation. If we seek salvation on Jesus’ terms, we will gain the salvation Jesus offers. If we seek salvation on our terms, Jesus’ salvation is not available to us. We do not become damned, we already are.

          The question of judging comes down to this. Jesus has declared things to be wrong. He has declared things to be right. If you agree with Him, are you judging, or are you accepting His judgment? Perhaps more importantly, is the judgment true?