Take a moment to read 1 Corinthians 4:1-7 before reading the devotional below.
When you are doing supernatural things, it’s hard to know how you are doing. That’s why in today’s passage, Paul says he doesn’t trust humans (including himself) to make that call. Even when our conscience is clear, we might not be supernaturally effective. Only God can judge our progress and our actions.
Why do we spend so much time judging each other? Some might even claim that Christians are supposed to judge other people (as some kind of moral police?). Nothing could be farther from the truth. Here Paul tells us that judging others is not our right. He says, “Don’t judge people ahead of time…” What “time” is he talking about? The end of the world. God’s Judgment Day. So if it’s before that (which it is), there’s no room for judgment.
Here’s your freedom for today:
God sees the real you.
That “freedom” word might sound a little scary. God sees the real me?? I hope not… The thing is, when God sees the real you, he loves you. Remember that house we talked about yesterday? We build our foundation on Christ. We serve other followers of Jesus together as one house or one body. Within that, God is the only one that has any right to judge you or evaluate your spiritual life. He knows your heart, and he loves you. Often we judge others because of our own insecurities. What would it mean for you to be confident enough in your own relationship with God that you don’t need to evaluate anyone else? When God sees the real you, it means that his relationship with you is secure. He’s not going anywhere. You can rest in that and press into shaky and supernatural places without regard for how anyone else is doing.