When Your Mistakes Land You Before a Judge
It was my sixth grade year at Thome School in Rock Falls, Illinois. My best friend was Mike Brown, and we would always walk the shortcut to school through the yard for the two blocks to school.
One day Mike and I decided to spice this otherwise boring walk up … so we began taking target practice with the trees with the rocks along the way. After showing our skill at hitting trees 10 to 15 feet away, Mike let a rock fly … after a protracted second, I heard Mike say, “Run!”, and he took off in a direction 90% from the school. So I went trotting after him.
Mike after running for a block in the wrong direction, Mike finally slowed and told me that he hit a car windshield. Later that day while sitting in class wrestling with the relief of not getting caught and the guilt of the broken window, I hear over the intercom system something I had never heard before, “Steven Chapman and Mike Brown, please come to the Principal’s office immediately.”
Being in the Principal’s office was like being called before a judge. The trial was about to begin.
Judges elicit a sense of fear, don’t they? They never call you in for something you have done right. We think of them as someone who harshly tells us what we did wrong. And they seem to be everywhere these days on television. There’s Judge Judy and Hatchett. Mathis and Christina. And my favorite—Judge Brown.
Then there are some judges you may not know. They even have a book in the Bible with their name on it. Judges. These judges appeared on the scene to help sort out right and wrong. They also helped people get out of trouble.
God’s people kept putting themselves into a never ending cycle of disobedience, discipline, declaration of wrong, and deliverance. Judges like Deborah and Gideon and Samson helped them find their way back to God.
What did the people do that was so bad they needed judges? Two things. First, they failed to put God first in their lives (Judges 1:28). And secondly, they did not teach their children to know God (Judges 2:10). These two “sins” led to their downfall and ruin.
Are you making the same mistakes they made? If so, you have a judge that can help you––Jesus.
The good news is that when he “calls” you into his office after you’ve messed up, you will look up to see your judge’s face and see your savior there.
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