Thus speaketh the LORD
of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and show mercy and compassions every
man to his brother: And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the
stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in
your heart.
Zechariah 7:9-10
The one thing that we
must exercise as a Christian is love; in demonstrating this one word throughout
our lives we encompass the desires of God for us and through us… The bible
declares in 1 John 4 that God is love… We
bring this passage into today’s devotional to make clear the command that God
has for His people… When we walk in love, we are living as God has called us to
live and therefore we are children of God by exercising His very being… Love
keeps us from oppressing the widow and the fatherless; love opens up our door
to a stranger and feeds the poor… This is why Jesus said the greatest commandment is that we love one
another… The love you have for Christ is not a love that you speak, it is
not declared by mere words but actions; notice that it is the Lord who spoke to
Zechariah and has given him this message for the people… If you want to please
the Lord, don’t speak of His goodness; demonstrate His goodness to others… The
enemy has a lot of us actually believing that we can have a relationship with
God without walking in His will and divine plan for our lives… So many of us walk
this earth holding on to things which really are just tearing us down and separating
us from God’s plan which is how the enemy prevails in your life… You go to
church and don’t even leave differently than you came because you are busy
holding on to a pass scar or wound… There are so many of us who have gone
unhealed because we haven’t forgiven our brother or sister… This lack of forgiveness
builds a wall between you and your maturation in Christ which is why Zechariah
says let none of you imagine evil
against his brother in your heart… This is the only reasoning that can be
fathomed to how someone can say that they love God and allow animosity and
resentment to build up within toward their fellow man… You’re heart is vital to
your being not only physically but also spiritually… Proverbs 4:23 tells us “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is
the wellspring of life.” You have to guard your heart and this is accomplished by
ensuring that you align yourself with the will of God… The Lord commands us
through the writings of Zechariah that we are to execute true judgment and show
mercy and compassion to every man… Whether we realize it or not, every person
that we encounter is a (n) opportunity that is presented before us to demonstrate
our devotion to the Lord… Executing true judgment means that we are to be fair
and just no matter what the situation is or who it involves… So often we try to “pay people back” for the wrong they have done to us and we are
reminded in today’s scripture that a true child of God can look beyond faults
and still showcase God’s love and provisions…
When you are able to love those
who don’t love you back, when you are able to forgive those who have wronged
you, when you are able to serve in the humblest of capacities than you are
executing true judgment and showing mercy and compassion… Jesus was the greatest
demonstration of executing mercy and compassion when He died on the cross, the
true judgment came also when He laid down His life for us and gave us another
chance to get back on track… Often times
we equate judgment with evil intentions or a negative idea; however, true
judgment paves the way to accountability and exaltation… We are accountable
for our actions on this earth, but by the judgment of Christ we have been given
a (n) avenue to turn back to the Lord and follow Him…To know that we were made
in God’s image teaches us that we were made to be royalty and in good standing
with the Lord… His desire is that we come back to Him and His judgment is that
we are given a chance to learn from our mistakes and overcome our bad choices…
We were made in perfection, yet we became imperfect; we lost sight of God but
He never lost sight of us. Our fate had been sealed, but Christ overruled the
verdict and came down from heaven to shine light into a dark and confused
world. Many times people talk about the miracles He performed and how much He
sacrificed, but His ultimate goal was to show us how to live. He didn’t come to show us how to turn water
into wine, He didn't come to show us how to give sight to the blind, no; He
came to show us how to love and be obedient to His father’s word. Think
about all He endured from His own people (only in his own town is a prophet
without honor), think about how much He went through for a love He had for us
that we never gave back. He never turned His back on us, He never left us
alone, and He never refused to look in on us. This passage reminds us that we
are to love unconditionally just as Christ does and did... This passage reminds
us that we are to show mercy just as Christ has and is... The bible tells us to
love your enemy and pray for those who despite-fully use you. You want to know a
true child of God, see how they act around mixed company, examine the mercy
they bestow and the compassion that they have on the weak, abused and confused
of our societies! Christ died not because He had to, but because He chose too… The choice is yours and it’s shown by how
you execute judgment, show mercy and display compassion…
BE
BLESSED!!!
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