Going to court is almost never a good thing, and my attorney friend had to do it regularly. He told me that his preparation for the trial always needed to be about the facts in the case, but he also needed to prep for what the judge might have for lunch that day.
The judge's mood might affect the verdict in the case.
That sounds strange to us because we hope that those who hold a position on the bench would be impartial and make wise judgments based on facts alone. But our history has shown that judges are just as fallible as any of us and an over-spicy Thai lunch could affect the way the judge thinks about the persons in a trial.
What if our way of life (or life itself) was in the hands of a judge who makes decisions based on his Pepto Bismol needing-gut?
When we think of God as a judge there may be a sense of dread or fear or foreboding that comes with that. "Father" is easier- even "King" is easier- but "Judge" is hard. It is easy to think of God's judgment as only being a gavel coming down hard to condemn and punish.
But the real reason why God being our judge is hard is because he gets the ultimate decision and he has the ultimate authority in our lives. What he decides stands. No court of appeals. His judgment is final.
If he has final say in all matters of our lives then we have to ask the question: "is he a good judge"? Is he a wise judge? Does he know what he’s doing? Is there anyway his judgment can be gracious?
When I comes down to it the question is: "are there enough facts about the heart of our Judge that we can trust him"?
Or does what he had for lunch change his mood and, therefore, the course in destiny of our lives?
Join us Sunday evening as we look into the heart of God as we read (and discuss) his Word together from James chapter 5 verses 1-11.
What we will find in God’s self-revelation is more than we expect of him and better than we would have imagined on our own.