1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.
I came across a powerful story that I felt led to share with you today.
There was a man who had four sons, and he wanted them to understand the importance of not rushing to judgment. So, he sent each one on a journey to view a pear tree that was far away. He sent the first son in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in the summer, and the youngest in the fall. After they all returned, he gathered them together to hear what they had seen.
The first son said the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. The second son said it was covered in green buds, full of hope and promise. The third son described it as being full of beautiful blossoms that smelled sweet and were so graceful. But the youngest son said it was full of ripe fruit, heavy with life and fulfillment.
After hearing all their answers, the wise father smiled and said, “Sons, you’re all right—but you’ve only seen one season of the tree’s life. You can’t judge the tree, or anything else, by just one season. Most things can only be understood when all the seasons have passed.”
I think we’ve all been guilty of judging someone or something too quickly, and we’ve probably felt the sting of being judged in the same way. Lord, forgive us! We need to give each other the benefit of the doubt, to take the time to see the bigger picture before making up our minds. Why? Because God does that for us all the time.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]"In the washroom of his London club, British newspaper publisher and politician William Beverbrook happened to meet Edward Heath, then a young member of Parliament, about whom Beverbrook had printed an insulting editorial a few days earlier. "My dear chap," said the publisher, embarrassed by the encounter. "I've been thinking it over, and I was wrong. Here and now, I wish to apologize." "Very well," grunted Heath. "But the next time, I wish you'd insult me in the washroom and apologize in your newspaper."
These first two scriptures are speaking of the same "Stone", the prophesied Messiah Yeshua (Jesus), the "head of the corner" or "rosh pina", in Hebrew. This stone is laid in Zion, a common synonym for Jerusalem, where mount Zion rests. The stone is "tried", that is, tested in every way that a stone can be; the stone is precious and excellent to be set as a sure, reliable, accurate, even everlasting foundation, and a stone which is prepared and set in place by God, Himself. Can you think of a "Stone" more perfect or beautiful than our Messiah?
Years ago, I heard an anointed missionary and personal friend speaking on the consequences of sin. He told a story about a pair of brothers he knew quite well.
Junk mail -- those annoying letters that fill your mail box. Along with the junk comes the delightful bills, and renewal notices. Of course the junk, we can just throw away, the bills, unfortunately can't be ignored, but the renewal notices, those we're thankful to see. Without them, we'd likely forget that we need to renew our licenses, our credit cards, membership cards, whatever else.
A story is told of Napoleon Bonaparte. As he was busy conquering Europe in the 1800's during one of his military campaigns, Napoleon accidentally let the bridle of his horse slip while he was looking through some papers. The horse reared itself and the Emperor lost his balance. One corporal quickly leaped forward and caught the bridle just in the nick of time, bringing the horse under control and saving Napoleon from what might have been serious injury or even death. Napoleon saluted the corporal and said, "Thank you, Captain!" "Of what company, Sire?" asked the corporal. "Of my guards," replied Napoleon.
It ought to be obvious to all of us believers that we are in a spiritual war that is taking place all over the earth -- and that we are called to fight in this battle. In the world's armies, soldiers are not sent into battle before receiving many months of serious training. They need to get physically in shape first and then to learn how to handle different wartime situations and tactics of the enemy.
Yeshua (Jesus) asked this man "Do you want to be made well?" Of course he did! Wouldn't you? Why did Jesus ask a question like this when its answer was so clearly obvious? It seems the Lord wanted to hear him verbalize his need.