I thought I heard my granddaughter stirring in her crib as I brushed my teeth in the guest bath across from her room. I stood outside her door, holding my breath to listen, as I’ve done hundreds of times before with my own children. I waited for the sound of her rhythmic breathing before heading to my room for the night. Sometime between now and her teen years, she will no doubt grow to perceive this same loving gesture as an invasion of her privacy. We are all true sons of Adam and daughters of Eve, as CS Lewis dubs the human race in his Narnia Chronicles.
“When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden.
So they hid from the Lord God among the trees.”
Genesis 3:8 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/gen.3.8.NLT
Gaining the knowledge of good and evil came at a terrible cost. Innocence lost brought an awareness of insecurity, guilt, and shame. My tendency to question the motives of anyone who shows me a kindness. That suspiciousness that creeps in when a stranger approaches. The knot in the pit of my stomach when I know I’ve said something I shouldn’t have and I can’t take it back. The fear of being judged. All evidence of the fall.
“Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged.
For look—the Judge is standing at the door!”
James 5:9 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jas.5.9.NLT
The Judge is standing at the door!
There’s God, listening at my door and your door! This visual caught me off guard as I read through the book of James this week. A dozen different images flashed through my mind as I mulled over these words. I see myself in the hot seat and begin to feel all the familiar emotions of being under intense scrutiny. Just as quickly, I am aware of the Holy Spirit, bringing to mind the words of the apostle Paul.
“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.”
Romans 8:1-2 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.8.1-2.NLT
“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in Him.
But anyone who does not believe in Him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.
And the judgment is based on this fact:
God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.
All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.
But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”
John 3:18-21 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.3.19-21.NLT
CS Lewis creates a beautiful word picture of this quickening of the Spirit in his scene in chapter ten of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader where Lucy finds herself in the magician’s library reading from a book of spells in order to save her friends. She is sorely tempted to read more than what she was sent to retrieve and at one point of great temptation, she sees Aslan, the Christ figure lion’s face, superimposed over the illustrations. A moment later, she succumbs to her temptation to read a seemingly harmless spell which causes the pictures to become windows into her far away home. She overhears a conversation between two of her classmates and feels the sting of betrayal, saying,
“Well, you jolly well won’t have the chance any other term!” shouted Lucy. “Two-faced little beast!” But the sound of her own voice at once reminded her that she was talking to a picture…”
It’s then that she hears the steps of someone approaching and fears being caught, only to meet Aslan in the flesh. She’s at once relieved, then conflicted.
“Child,” he said, “I think you have been eavesdropping.”
“Eavesdropping?”
“You listened to what your two schoolfellows were saying about you.”
“Oh that? I never thought that was eavesdropping, Aslan. Wasn’t it magic?”
“Spying on people by magic is the same as spying on them in any other way. And you have misjudged your friend. She is weak, but she loves you. She was afraid of the older girl and said what she does not mean.”
“I don’t think I’d ever be able to forget what I heard her say.”
“No, you won’t.”
C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952; this edition: HarperCollins, 1994) 155-160.
Thanks be to God that He judges righteously! Praise Him that He is forbearing, not wanting any to be destroyed, but wanting everyone to repent. (II Peter 3:9) In His omniscience, He did not allow humanity the chance to add permanence to our fallen state.
“Then the Lord God said,
“Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil.
What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it?
Then they will live forever!””
Genesis 3:22 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/gen.3.22.NLT
“So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made.
After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden.
And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.”
Genesis 3:23-24 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/gen.3.23-24.NLT
“God, your righteousness is revealed when you judge.
Because of the strength of your forgiveness, your anger does not break out every day.”
Psalms 7:11 TPT
https://bible.com/bible/1849/psa.7.11.TPT
God’s wrath is deserved. We are wage-earners burying ourselves ever deeper in death’s realm. God made provision for our salvation by coming to us in a body of flesh. He lived among us the life we could not live in order to be the perfect atoning sacrifice, defeating sin and death once for all. This gift of eternal and abundant life is free to all who believe in the name of the One and Only Son of God, Jesus the Christ. His wrath will surely fall, but He has made a way of escape through the flames of judgement.
“And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire.
They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed.
But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief.
Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.”
2 Peter 3:7, 10 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/2pe.3.7-10.NLT
“Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return.
Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring.
They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen.
You, too, must be patient.
Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.
Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged.
For look—the Judge is standing at the door!”
James 5:7-9 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jas.5.9.NLT
“So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.”
James 1:21 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jas.1.21.NLT
“So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free.
There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others.
But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.”
James 2:12-13 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jas.2.12-13.NLT
“I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he comes to set up his Kingdom:
Preach the word of God.
Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not.
Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.
And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return.
And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.”
2 Timothy 4:1-2, 7-8 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/2ti.4.1-8.NLT
For the same God who stands outside the door that opens into eternity as Judge, ever ready to split the skies, says,
““Look!
I stand at the door and knock.
If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.”
Revelation 3:20 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/rev.3.20.NLT
““And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for.
Keep on seeking, and you will find.
Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives.
Everyone who seeks, finds.
And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Luke 11:9-10 NLT
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