“The Lord Takes Delight in His People” by Melanie Rigney
Brothers and sisters: How can any one of you with a case against another dare to bring it to the unjust for judgment instead of to the holy ones? Do you not know that the holy ones will judge the world? (1 Corinthians 6:1-2)
The Lord takes delight in his people. (Psalm 149:4)
And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured. Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all. (Luke 6:17-19)
Piety
Lord, help me to leave the judging to You… and to reflect Your love.
Study
Our world is troubled. Whether it’s more troubled than it was seventeen years ago today, or 170 years ago, or 1,700 years ago depends on perspective. Seventeen ago, the United States was under attack. In 1848, revolutionary waves rolled across more than fifty European countries. In 318, controversy raged about the persons of the Holy Trinity.
And yet, the psalmist tells us the Lord takes delight in His people. How can that be, when it seems all we do is squabble, injure, and betray each other?
You could argue that people who behave in such unconscionable ways are not the Lord’s people. And I would argue back that if that were the case, the Lord would have no people whatsoever on this planet.
It comes down to this: we certainly are called to provide correction and guidance when we discern it’s needed. We are called to stand up and advocate for the downtrodden, those who are poor and needy in every sense of those words. But judge and condemn? That’s His job. To doubt that, to doubt His healing power, is to doubt everything.
Action
Write a letter forgiving someone for something you found unforgivable. If appropriate, mail it.
Image credit: https://pixabay.com/
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