Judgment.  We just can’t seem to get it right.  We forget who we are in the courtroom: all sinners, guilty as charged.  We forget that Jesus defends us all, that Jesus is a friend of sinners, a friend to Officer Darren Wilson and the late Mr. Michael Brown, Jr. before and after they met each other (Matthew 11.19).  We don’t like to hear that, which is how we find ourselves in the Judge’s seat.  We really don’t like God’s justice, which is God’s unconditional love– because it is for all.

The truth is that we want God to reserve judgment when it comes to our failings but scream “let it roll like a river” when it comes to those we hate or disagree with (Amos 5.24).  The truth is we only respect God’s judgment when we approve of it, when we feel that God has reached the decision that we have.

We also want to keep persons on the hook.  We don’t want to forgive them.  But, Christians, what kind of fisher of people does that?  Are those we perceive to have done wrong in the case of Officer Darren Wilson and the late Mr. Michael Brown, Jr. now not eligible for the ministry of Christ? Have we judged them unworthy of God’s grace and mercy because of the decision they have made?  And if so, by what criteria? Where did it begin and when does it end?

We want justice now.  We put demands on when justice happens and how justice looks to us.  And if our demands are not met, then we judge not just the jury or the law enforcement officials or even the media but we judge God as incompetent.

The tragic events that led up to the death of an unarmed teenager, the late Mr. Michael Brown, Jr. have brought us to the same place.  We are using excessive force, punishing business owners that had nothing to do with the event, destroying property that was not a part of the crime scene, hurting hundreds of other people… though it started with just two.

This is what happens when we judge.  I’m scooting over as I am in no position to.