Day 31, Nicene Creed, 23rd Line

to judge the living and the dead

The word judge gets such a bad rap these days. It seems the idea most connected with judging is that we shouldn’t do it. "Don't judge!" Right? However, sound judgement is a good thing. It’s a gift that has to do with justice and determining what is right. While it’s true that we should not attempt to judge each others' souls—on account of not having all the information or authority, and therefore, being incapable of judging rightly—we need to use our god-given abilities to make judgements that best serve and glorify God.

When Christ comes again in glory, He will judge all of humanity, and He does have all the information and authority, so His judgements will be right. In the meantime, we need to see to it that we don’t use our own personal judgement as a weapon against others. Instead, we should use our judgement to discern justice in our own actions and motives so we can best prepare for Christ’s coming.

None of us will stand blameless before Him, but through faith in Him, we can be justified.

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This reflection is a part of By Heart: A Lenten Prayer Project.

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