The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
"I'm Not the Judge" Submitted by Pastor Scott Koop of Cornerstone Community Church I have a friend who was at the time of my story 34 years old, single and from divorced parents. She had lost her virginity at the age of 19, had continued to be somewhat promiscuous (although she would probably hate that term), had one other sibling, a brother who was gay, and was very anti-Christian. We met as a result of working in the same building and quickly struck up a friendship. When she discovered that I was a Christian, however, the look of distrust that came over her face seemed to suggest that she expected me to be harsh and judgmental of anything that I disagreed with. At one point our conversation came around to the topic of homosexuality and she seemed to have some strong convictions on the subject. I did not state my opinion but rather asked her how she felt. It didn't take long for her to tell me that her brother was gay. Some time later I met her brother and I resolved to simply treat him as anyone else I might meet. My friend seemed surprised as she realized I was not interested in judging her or her brother. On one occasion my friend's brother needed a truck to move a huge framed picture from his office to his house. When I offered my truck to him he and his sister both seemed taken aback. I helped them move the picture and set it up in this young man's house. Acts 1:8 is, in many ways, our "marching orders" as Christians. It says that we are to be witnesses. A witness only gives testimony of what they have seen and heard and experienced. It is never the duty of a witness to pass judgment. I have learned, but need to be reminded continually, that just because we disagree with someone doesn't mean we always have to tell them that we disagree. As Christians we need to be witnesses of the love of Jesus to those we meet. Instead of dwelling on what we disagree with we need to love the person. Our goal can never be to "convert" a person because that's not our responsibility. Our goal must simply be to show what a true Christian looks like. I trust that God can use us, in spite of ourselves, to that end.
