"Judgment" | Reflection by Katharine Luce

Judgment: the process of forming an opinion or evaluation by discerning and comparing; a formal utterance of an authoritative opinion; the final judging of humankind by God.

The word Judgment can have an unsettling connotation, with good reason—we are told throughout Scripture that “The Lord will judge the ends of the earth” (1 Sa. 2:10); we profess in our creed that “[Christ] will come again to judge the living and the dead.” Thanks to popular and religious culture, one can easily call to mind scenes of Judgment Day complete with fire, brimstone and of course weeping and gnashing of teeth.  It’s not a pretty picture.

We are told repeatedly throughout scripture not to pass judgment: “Judge not, lest you be judged” (Luke 6:37); “Do not judge by appearances” (John 7:24). Humans lack the perspective and perfect wisdom to pronounce a final judgment—on others, and even upon ourselves. While many judgments come from a desire to know and do rightly, an unease remains about our sinful condition. The knowledge that none of us are capable of withstanding God’s final judgment on our own merit is enough to make me quake: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (John 3:16).

But the Good News remains: Christ endured that final judgment, bearing the weight of our sin and inadequacy on the cross to suffer the penalty befitting our condition.  Through Christ, we gain access to salvation, being made new on account of his death and resurrection.  What a gift of new life!

So where does that Good New leave us with regard to judgment? If we, as Christians, can seek to frame our daily judgments instead as discernment, wisdom is the goal.   May we seek out a greater capacity to discern wisely in our actions, and place our trust in “O Lord of hosts, who judges righteously” (Jer. 11:20).

Words in the Wilderness - Walk through the season of Lent with Trinity, one word at a time. Every day (except on Sundays) we will post a photo and a brief refection written by someone in our Trinity community. https://www.trinitynewhaven.org/words-in-the-wilderness