The Elusive Variable of Time (part 3)–Judge Not

Read part 1 here, and part 2 here…

As you know, I’ve been processing the role of time in our spiritual walk over the past couple of weeks. I’ve talked about how it can be a point of frustration for us when we are trying to understand the timing of God in our walk of faith. In the last post, I shared a bit of my own story, and how my own faulty theology about the timing of God and waiting on the Lord may have cost me some key opportunities. To conclude this series of posts, I’d like to talk a little about the ways in which time actually serves as our friend.

When Jesus said, “Judge not, lest ye be judged,” I realize He was sort of referring to the sowing-and-reaping principle. I also realize He was sort of putting us in our place, because only God is qualified to judge. But as with most things in Scripture, I think there’s another element to it. I think one reason why we are to “judge not” is that we are all living within the dynamic of time, and time has a way of bringing change. We are not qualified to judge another person at any given time because we really do not know from moment to moment what might happen to create change in that person. God, however, Who is not limited by time, fully understands the role of timing in our lives, and I believe He works within it to extend His grace to us. That is why He alone is qualified to judge–He’s the only One who is omniscient and omnipresent–and timeless.

I mentioned this before, but it bears repeating: although I still embrace a theology that acknowledges the existence of hell, I have given up the idea of figuring out who is going to heaven or hell. The reason is that I now understand the role of time in a person’s life. No matter how lost someone might appear to me at the moment, I have no idea what God might be working in that person. That person might be a completely different person tomorrow, or in 10 years, than he or she is today. I’ve come to understand that every day we live is a day in which God is giving us time to reach out for Him–time to embrace His forgiveness and redemption for our lives.

I used to buy into the fabricated sense of urgency that the evangelical community places upon evangelism–that because Jesus is coming soon, we only have so much time to win the world, and every person who hasn’t accepted Christ is on borrowed time, one breath away from hell. Yes, Jesus is coming soon–but Jesus is already here, also. That “lost” soul I’m looking at? Jesus was there with that person before I arrived, and He will be there after I leave. God is not limited by time the way we are, and He exerts a patience with each of us that baffles the mind. True, we don’t know how much time we have from moment to moment–but God does. We can trust Him to draw people unto Himself when they are ready. Will we lose some? Yes–but that was happening before we were panicking, and the truth is, we were probably doing more harm than good by high-pressuring people to come to Jesus. It’s much better to let His kindness (exerted through time) lead people to repentance than it is to try and scare the hell out of them.

My point? From a certain vantage point, the only difference between a damned soul and a saved one is time. No matter how lost someone appears to be, God is able to snatch them up in His own time. So I don’t judge anymore. I don’t convey to my non-believing friends that they are going to hell, because I genuinely don’t know that this is the case, and thank God I’m not the one who will decide that. I trust God to work on their hearts within whatever time He gives them, and I try to be a good witness in the meantime.

Here’s another example. I often feel the scrutiny of churchgoing believers who know where I currently stand on institutional Christianity. I know there are people at my various churches left behind (CLBs) who are scratching their heads, unable to understand why I would no longer attend church on Sunday mornings with them–or at any other Sunday morning church. Especially when they remember that I used to be the guy on the platform every week, urging others on.

Many of these folks tend to default to the basic presumptions: I am hurt, or I am unforgiving, or I am a prodigal. If I could just get “healed up,” I’d come back to “the fold.” Some of the bolder ones will invite me to church and explain to me why their church is “different.” I think some of the even bolder ones would throw the “forsake not the assembly” Scripture at me if I didn’t beat them to the punch. 🙂

In short–they are judging me. They might not mean it that way, but that’s what they are doing. They deem me to be on the “wrong” side of the issue, and they want to get me back on the “right” side of it.

What they do not understand is that I haven’t said I would never come back.

I am not a prodigal, nor am I backslidden. I am disenfranchised. There is a difference. I no longer participate in the institutional church systems because I see that there is far too much getting in the way of authenticity within those walls, and I’ve come to the conclusion for myself that this cannot be changed from within the system. I haven’t left in anger, although I have been angered and hurt many times; I have left to pursue something more real with my faith. I still believe in the importance of the community of faith, and I still believe in assembling together; I just don’t believe in assembling together out of guilt, and if what we’re doing isn’t working right, I want to find a “more right” way of doing it.

But you know something? All of this is happening within the dynamic of time. Just because I am not currently subscribed to a community of believers doesn’t mean I won’t ever be again. And just because the church at large is currently encumbered by its own man-made institutions doesn’t mean it always will be, either. On both sides of the issue, time is our ally. Time is the dimension in which God can work on all of us to form the Body of Christ into what HE deems it should be–and reveal to all of us our place within it. This is why when someone asks me, I tell them I’m not involved in a congregation right now. I don’t have a doctrine that says don’t go to church. I am a pragmatist, and I am abstaining for the moment because I don’t see a place where I can fit, and I don’t see any point in trying to make myself fit just to keep people from being uncomfortable. If anything, I’d like to generate a little discomfort. Perhaps my absence (along with the absence of thousands of other believers) just might be enough to shine a light on the fact that the church itself needs to undergo a paradigm shift.

Time will tell. 🙂

So if you don’t like where someone currently is on their walk of faith, don’t judge that person. Give them time. If you don’t like the fact that I don’t attend an institutional church on Sundays, judge not. The sun rose today, which means God has given us another day–time in which we can seek Him, seek His guidance. Time in which He can work His will.

He will accomplish His purposes in us, after all. It’s just a matter of time.