Judgment Nailed
Originally scheduled for September 27
She walked into the nail salon and was greeted with a shocking
sight. Sitting in one of the chairs was a full grown, adult male —
and a member of her church, too. She thought to herself, what on
earth is a full-grown, red-blooded American male doing in the ladies
nail salon. Debating with herself as to whether not she should go
over and say something to him, one of the manicurist came over to
her and apparently read her mind.
“Poor fella, can’t even
trim his own toenails without bleeding half to death. He has
Parkinson’s Disease and his hands mess up his feet something awful.”
Swallowing her previous judgment, she quietly agreed.
You
might reflect upon her position at this point. She had just about
been ready to go over instead speak sternly to the man to correct
his failings. “Real men,…” A diatribe on what real men do and don’t
do was barely avoided. This little example we can see why Christ
commands us to “Judge Not.” But there is a circumstance in which
Christ commands us to judge. He commands us to examine ourselves
before we go to communion, to see if there is something unacceptable
in us.
This is not all that unpleasant the process. It
happens inside our own head and usually doesn’t result in loud
outbursts of agony. The usual result is the resolution to fix a
problem as you can. Reasonable people coming to reasonable
conclusions to obtain reasonable results. So as you partake this
morning, before you get to the elements take a thoughtful what
Christ wants you to improve. Arrange it as best you can, then
partake. See in the bread his body on the cross opening the door to
heaven for you. See in the cup the remission of your sins. You will
accept your self judgment and help you with the process of
performing. What a friend we have in Jesus!
