Living a condemnation free life, Hebrews 8:1,2 with an interesting little story of quick judgments of others.

SCRIPTURE: Romans 8:1,2 (NIV)
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

STORY:
In his little book Illustrations of Bible Truth, H.A. Ironside pointed out the folly of judging others. He related an incident in the life of a man called Bishop Potter. "He was sailing for Europe on one of the great transatlantic ocean liners. When he went on board, he found that another passenger was to share the cabin with him. After going to see the accommodations, he came up to the purser's desk and inquired if he could leave his gold watch and other valuables in the ship's safe. He explained that ordinarily he never availed himself of that privilege, but he had been to his cabin and had met the man who was to occupy the other berth. Judging from his appearance, he was afraid that he might not be a very trustworthy person. The purser accepted the responsibility for the valuables and remarked, 'It's all right, bishop, I'll be very glad to take care of them for you. The other man has been up here and left his for the same reason!'"

OBSERVATION:
Why is it that we get caught up in judging others? We see them standing on the street corner. They appear in a TV news program. We walk past them on the street or in the store. And at every turn we pass a little judgment concerning their character or place in life.

We drive through “certain” neighborhoods and instantly lock our car door. We should be driving with our car doors locked anyway, but why is it in those particular circumstances we do what we haven’t done already? We pass judgment based on a variety of criteria … and all the while, others are doing the same to us.

It is a sad world in which we live when we are quick to pass a comment upon another … to condemn another person … to relate them to a lesser or even a higher position in life. We stand in the shoes of a person whom Christ does not condemn. We view others and pass judgment on them while all the time Christ does not condemn them either. Strange world in which we live!

As F.B. Meyer once said that when we see a brother or sister in sin, there are two things we do not know: First, we do not know how hard he or she tried not to sin. And second, we do not know the power of the forces that assailed him or her. We also do not know what we would have done in the same circumstances.
Maybe we condemn ourselves? Maybe we are too hard on ourselves? Maybe we desire something better for ourselves? Maybe we think too lightly of ourselves? Maybe we should try to see ourselves with the eyes of Jesus and then we would see others from the same perspective. Just maybe …

PRAYER:
Jesus, your servant Paul shared that we were not to judge others and yet we do. Forgive us when we do and bring us gently back to where we should be living our life. Amen.