365 Days of the Great Names of God, Day 78: Judge

Judge

"Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25b NIV)

Once upon a time, there was a young woman fresh out of college, living 500 miles from home, working at her first real job. While she was driving to work one morning, she made an innocent but foolish mistake. No one was hurt, and it was a crime of ignorance, not of intent, but it landed her in a courtroom in front of a judge who waited for her plea of guilt or innocence.

Dear NOG friends, I told my parents the other day that by the end of this series, I will have told every story of mine there is to tell. Now you've read the beginning of this one. Clearly, there is much more to it, but we have many days ahead of us; for today, suffice it to say that I know what it's like to stand before a judge who has my life (or what felt like it) in his hands.

Mercifully, the judge in my case looked at me with understanding and gently offered a just and fair way out of the mess I'd inadvertently gotten myself into.

God, the Judge of all the earth, is the Chief Justice of the supreme court of the universe. In fact, He's the only one on the bench. His decision-making power is unchecked, unmitigated, and unending. But so are His patience, grace, and wisdom.

This Judge looks at the innocent and the guilty and the confused and the hapless and the repeat offenders and sees them all through eyes of love and compassion. Then He renders a verdict that somehow manages to be right, complete, merciful, and effective all at the same time. 

Aristotle wrote, "The Law is Reason free from Passion." But our omnipotent Judge upholds His own law with purposeful passion. And all His reasons are love.