The old judge

In a certain county in Nova Scotia lived an old judge. One day a small child came to speak to this judge. She had heard something about him, which puzzled her.

She had heard this judge had once sentenced someone to die.

She was perplexed, as that didn’t seem to her to have been consistent with his loving fatherly character. When she asked the judge about it, he told her that yes, he had, but he had no choice.

The judge explained that a man had been brought into his court accused of a terrible crime. He had committed this crime and the jury found him guilty of it. In those days, the law stated anyone having done what this man did had to die. The judge was forced to sentence him accordingly. The man had reasons for doing what he did. The judge understood these reasons if not his resulting actions.

Still, justice needed to be served. The righteous demands of the law needed to be met.

One wonders to what extent God is like this old judge. Surely, God wouldn’t judge us, would He? Doesn’t God love us? But God does love. Parents’ love sometimes necessitates they discipline their children. Proverbs tells us that who God loves, He chastens, He teaches, He corrects. No matter how much God loves us, the righteous demands of the law must be met.

The Bible tells us we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. The Anglican Book of Common Prayer has a prayer in which we declare that we have sinned, in thought, word, and deed. We have left undone those things we ought to have done, and we have done those things we ought not to have done. We, as well, come under the righteous demands of the law, and the verdict will be much the same.

However, God has a tool in his arsenal that the judge did not have. Christ came to die in our place, to take the sentence for us. He died, so that we wouldnt have to.

Do we know Jesus? Not just know about Him, do we really know Him, as our own personal Lord and saviour? Do we have a personal relationship with Him?

Why not call out to Him today? He loves and calls each one of us to Himself. Yes, He is loving, but He is also just. Try Him and you will find the best friend you have ever had.