Know Jesus? NO JUDGMENT.

"Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life."

(John 5:24)

We're int he 2nd (and final) week of the 2018 Winter Olympics. I've always loved watching the Games - both winter and summer! Of course, I'm a huge fan of sports in general... but there's something special about cheering for your country in competitions that the rest of the year we don't actually care about.

Some Olympic events are straight-forward. Run the fastest... jump the highest/longest... score more points than your opponent... or make it down the mountain quicker than anyone else. But other events are a bit more subjective. They have judges. Who, well... judge. They give their (professional and trained) opinions about the quality of the effort. Gymnastics, ice skating, snowboarding, etc. are all examples of this.

No one likes to be judged. Heck, Jesus even told people not to judge others, so they won't have to be judged themselves. But many people see God as THE JUDGE (end of discussion!). Thinking that God's most important role is to sit on his throne on high and "look down" to judge people and their actions. Well, you can find passages in Scripture that deal with God's judgment, for sure. But I believe there's so much more that God is about.

And then I read John 5 today. Jesus, addressing the "haters" among him, says something quite interesting. "Anyone who hears my word and believes him who has sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life." Wow! Know Jesus? No judgment.

There's got to be tons of people who'd sign up for the "no judging line," isn't there? God isn't the "heavenly bouncer" in the sky, looking to throw people out. He wants to welcome us from life to LIFE. All we need to do is know Jesus. And it can start by reading the Gospels. Try Mark. He's there to meet us.