what is the opposite of judging?

Today's reading is from Luke 6:12-38 in the One Year Bible. In it, we read the most famous sermon of all time: the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus spent all time praying. Then He selects His twelve disciples, and gives the sermon we read. It contains the beatitudes. And it contains the golden rule.

But it juxtaposes two things I've never noticed before. It says "Judge not, or you will be judged." And RIGHT AFTER that, it says to forgive, and we will be forgiven. The connection is made pretty clear - if we judge other people, we will be judged by God. But if we forgive other people, then God will forgive us.

Many people go around saying, "Don't judge me!" when they really mean, "Don't tell me that I'm doing something wrong... I'll do whatever I want." In love, we should share the truth that what they're doing might be self-destructive. But we should keep in mind the fact that we ourselves are guilty of sins, too. And we must will their good. It's not "speaking the truth in love" if you hope they don't get better. That's judging. If we will their good, that's love.

But the take home message today is that instead of judging people, we should forgive them. And an added benefit is that we can pray that God will forgive their sins, too. As we learned recently, God desires to forgive us, and the faith of our friends can be sufficient for Him to forgive us. So let's forgive others - and ask for their forgiveness, too.

God, thank You for teaching us about judging and forgiving. Help us to love.