Thinking some more about judgment - Willimon.
To be made to stand before the mirror of truth, even though it may take an eternity to face the facts about ourselves, is an aspect of God's faith in us. Though we don't believe that we have the resources to live truthfully, God believes in us more than we believe in ourselves. God is willing to take time with us. And if anyone is ever able to stand before that judging, redeeming mirror and face the facts, it is only in response to something that God enacts, not at the product of our own will or intellect. If we are able to love, it is because we have first been loved (1 John 4:19). We did not choose God, God in Christ chose us (John 15:16). Grace alone separates the lost from the found, the redeemed from those yet awaiting the full communion that God desires for all.
Facing the mirror of truth and facing the facts about ourselves is enough to make anyone want to turn away. It is not a pleasant task. That is why we are constantly trying to build our own world in which we are just fine and we have things under control. But our God waits. Even when the world we try to create and the images we attempt to make build begin to fall apart - God waits. The whole time - through all of our ego-building and life-managing "expertise" - God waits. The mirror is always there - the truth. Our God in Christ is not concerned with what we see and how we would judge what we see. We are already embraced. In some ways I have the image of our Lord standing with us as we look at that mirror "bracing" us as we take each blow of truthfulness. Bracing us with a love that is able to heal all that is revealed so that our lives will be ready to live from a new sense of being.....being the beloved of God.
Connection: It is good to have clear and honest mirrors. It is the way we come to realize the power that is greater than our own judgments and rules.
Embrace us again this day, O God. As long as we continue to run from you, we will not allow ourselves to rest in your promises. Inspire our peace brought to us by your eternal presence. Amen.
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