Psalm 9:8 “And He will judge the world in righteousness, he will execute judgement for the peoples with equity.”
It’s been a struggle to get my mind to a place where I can creatively, and logically pen down a blog post, to begin my year. Regardless of how long the transition took, I am here to say, happy new year.
What would it feel like to have the perception of God as a fair judge, being a Christian
in our contemporary world, especially for the Queer Christian
community? Tweet This!
As a Christian, what image comes to mind when you think about God? Consuming fire, Jealous God, Punisher, e.tc images that we adapted mentally either through lessons from bible school, famous bible scholars, and religion.
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Why the above conversation? Last night, while brooding about my lack of commitment to my blog, and figuring out a way to break the ice, I slept off with my pen on my hands and transitioned into a dream, which felt like a trance.
In that dream, someone beckoned me to preach in the sermon, for that Sunday, it was a university setting, and mirroring the concept of an evangelical crusader, I focused my sermon on God’s imminent wrath in a sinful world, while encouraging for repentance. However, I was not done with my second line of thought, when I heard a whisper (not from my audience), Grace tell them that “I am God, and I am a fair judge.”
Amazed, but without a second thought, while quickly acknowledging that this is also who God is, I start to preach about a God who has always sought justice. For example, the case of Hagar (Genesis 16:7-16) or the Daughters of Zelophehad in Numbers 27, or the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11) the stories are endless. I realize how we have other vivid perceptions of who God is, but rarely highlight his fair-play and justice. The sermon ends with a lot of affirming nods, and appreciation, but before I wake up, a woman walks past me, thanks me again for a riveting sermon, and says “blog about it, the fair judge.” Then I wake up!
Now I am awake, and the first thing, that comes to mind is “what would it would feel like to have the perception of God as a fair judge, being a Christian in our contemporary world, especially for the Queer Christian community? For each story I shared above, there was an anomaly to which God judged with justice and equity. The answers seemed to lie in Psalm 103:14 “for He knows how we are formed, he remembers we are dust.” And to those who cannot reconcile their feelings with their faith, and would rather consider it a sin, He will judge still judge fairly because “He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities” and as the “East is from the West, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
I’ll end this piece with 1 Samuel 16: 17b (NIV) ” The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Translated in MSG bible, “God judges persons differently than humans do. Men and Women look at the face; God looks at the heart.”
Although the quote above has been bastardized a lot, to appeal to different moral callings, it still stands as a valid argument in the context of today’s article, of understanding who God is; asides from his many attributes “He is a Fair Judge.”
Disclaimer: I want to point out, that I in no way, consider myself a theologian or someone avast with an indepth knowledge of the bible, but I have shared what was placed in my hand to.
I hope everyone has a blessed year, leave your comments and send in your messages.
xoxo
Grace.
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Also, I have wrapped this text in a few photos that never made it online, so enjoy!
