Today’s verse touches upon judging others for doing something when you do the same thing. You’ve been there right? We’ve all been there. I would imagine everyone has had a moment of hypocrisy. Hopefully we have since then opened our eyes, but usually it’s not the case. We love to point out the splinter all while we have the log (Matthew 7:1-5).
God judges us with kindness, restraint, and patience because He wants to lead you to repentance. He does the same for others. He bestows upon us amazing grace, unfailing love, undeserved. Romans 2 talks about how we despise the riches of God’s kindness, restraint, and patience. Instead of being thankful for His goodness, grateful for His grace and mercy, we judge others and then condemn ourselves. It happens too often. Rather than loving others and living out of God’s overflowing abundance of grace, we point fingers, declare judgments, point out shortcomings.
Today, many we not despise the riches. Instead of looking at others and their fallenness, may we instead give thanks to God for His kindness, His restraint, and His patience. May we answer the call to love, to love like Jesus. He wants all people to be led to repentance. Let us love.
“Therefore, every one of you who judges is without excuse. For when you judge another, you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment on those who do such things is based on the truth. Do you think—anyone of you who judges those who do such things yet do the same—that you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you despise the riches of His kindness, restraint, and patience, not recognizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?” – Romans 2:1-4 [CSB]
Tania Gutekunst 