Passion and Compassion Around Judgment
Since August 20th I’ve been writing about judgment. That continues with today’s post on Revelation 16. This chapter contains the details of the final seven judgments the bowl judgments. These judgments consist of a terrible sore on those who do not know Jesus, the sea and fresh water turning to blood, men scorched with fire, darkness, pain, the Euphrates River drying up and then an earthquake of a magnitude never before seen on the earth. The men on earth refuse to repent, instead they blaspheme God. I didn’t want to write about judgment per se, this morning, having written about it the past five mornings. Rather, what came to my mind today was my changing attitude around judgment. As a young adult in my 20s reading these words in Revelation for the first time there was a certain “excitement” about the words. I wouldn’t say I was “glad” for the judgments being foretold but I was excited to read about them and the fact that I understood that I would not participate in them. But after almost 30 years of personal problems, family problems and watching and trying to help others go through problems; after watching disasters on the earth and seeing the devastation, I no longer have the same attitude about judgment. I am weary of it. I am melancholy and sad when I think of it. Again, I’m not quite sure how to put into words the way that I feel about it. Death and suffering from the perspective of 52 years is different than from the perspective of 24 years of age. I wonder if you feel the same way too?
I hope that this more sobering attitude regarding judgment moves me to be very passionate about warning others and moves me to be very compassionate about helping others as they suffer.