Today’s exhortation – Bitterroot judgement cont..
The bible says, ““No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart…” (Luke 6:43-45). God has set a law in motion which says we will reap what we sow. (Galatians 6:7). And so naturally if we sow bitter judgements, we’ll reap them too. The good news is Jesus died to remove from us all the consequences sin including bitterroot judgements, but we’ve to confess our sins and repent to receive the full benefit of His sacrifice for us.
So how are they formed? Usually, children judge their parents and/or siblings for wounds suffered whilst growing up or during the course of life together. Sometimes as in the case of child abuse by parents or close relatives, the injuries are great and judgement seems justified. However whilst we are permitted to hold that person accountable for their actions, we are not permitted to bitterly judge them. When we do, we plant a seed of bitter judgement in our own lives which work like curses against us. Unfortunately as time goes on, this develops a root system in our hearts which in turn give out fruits later on in our lives. The weirdest part is we become like the person we are judging bitterly. Eg. if we judge our parents for being alcoholics or for being poor, if we’re not careful we will become like them too. Remember seeds bear the same fruit!
Francis Hans-Jorie