Judging God

COMMENTS

No, you didn’t read the title wrong.  It doesn’t say “Being Judged by God”; it says “Judging God”.  If that seems backwards to you, GOOD!  But it’s still our subject today….

NOTES

Pardon my trip into the past, but I was watching TV a few days ago; and Wagon Train came on.  I remember watching it occasionally as a kid, but I was usually too busy with other stuff to spend much time watching TV.  Anyway, I sat down and watched this particular episode, just expecting an entertaining trip into the past via a shallow 1950s-60s western.  Imagine my shock when Flint McCullough (played by Robert Horton)—the handsome, womanizing scout for the wagon train—made a statement that still has me thinking!

Let me set the scene for you.  Flint finds a man (Luke) in the desert, alone and seemingly out of his mind, wanting to die.  As the show continues, we learn that he had been a minister in a small town.  His wife ran off with the proverbial traveling salesman.  His church, instead of supporting and encouraging him, defrocked him because of the scandal; and he had to leave town.  As a result of all this, he has now lost faith in God and in God’s people.  Without hope, he no longer wants to live.

Flint listens closely as Luke tells his story and bemoans the treatment he has received from the church back home.  God must not be the good God Luke thought He was.  When he finishes, Flint says, “You can’t judge God by the people who worship Him.”* 

That’s the statement that got my mind spinning:  you can’t judge God by the people who worship him.  People are flawed, but God is not.  He is good, kind, benevolent, caring, patient, forgiving, merciful, generous, loving, and on and on….  You can’t look at flawed humanity—even the Christians—and judge God by what you see because He is SO MUCH MORE.

BUT:

People do it all the time.  A Christian is judgmental, so they think that God must be judgmental.  A Christian is unkind, so God must be unkind.  A Christian is selfish, so God must be selfish.  When the unbelieving world sees a Christian, they think they are seeing what God is like and impart that believer’s characteristics to God Himself.

Jesus knew that would happen because He knows human nature.  Did your parents ever tell you to be careful what you did because it would reflect back on them (even if they didn’t approve of it)?  Were you ever embarrassed by something your child did because it made you look bad?  It’s the same thing with God.  We’re His children, and what we do reflects back on Him (even if He doesn’t approve of it).

Thinking about Flint’s statement has given me a new and deeper understanding of at least part of the purpose of Jesus’ commands to His followers.  BECAUSE people judge God by the people who worship Him (Christians), the people who worship Him are called to a higher standard. 

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.” (Matt. 7:12)

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you:  Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matt. 5:43-44)

“If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” (Matt. 5:39b)

“Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” (1 John 3:18)

We must look and act like Him so that the world gets an accurate picture of our God.  We can only do that when we are “filled up” with God (the Holy Spirit) and leaning on the Spirit to guide us and give us the strength to do what He commands. 

Think about your day today.  Would you want someone who watched you to say, “That must be what God is like”?  What’s scary to me is that there’s probably someone who is thinking that about me—someone I’m not even aware of.

In Matthew 5:13 Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.”  Then, he followed that with a command:

“Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matt. 5:16)

Let’s go out and behave in such a way that we show the world what our God is truly like!

*Wagon Train, Season 3 Episode 34, “The Luke Grant Story”