My Father in Heaven is Perfect

In a desperate moment, feeling very broke,
Shellie "borrowed" cash from her roomate's purse.
She fully intended to replace it on payday.
When her roomate discovered the missing money
she was naturally distraught.
For a few minutes,
Shellie pretended to help search for the money
but she felt horrible as she watched Karen
frantically turning their room upside down.

Did Karen know it was her?
Shellie's face was growing red.
Karen had always been so kind to her.
But the thought of coming clean
made Shellie's heart beat hard.

When Karen finally sat down
with her head in her hands,
Shellie couldn't stand it anymore.
She decided to own up to her mistake.
Even though Karen quickly forgave her,
Shellie has never forgotten how awkward
it was to look into Karen's trusting eyes
and tell her that she had betrayed her.

Have you ever felt like Shellie?
What will it be like for us to look into the eyes of God
and be comfortable in His holy presence?
When Isaiah saw the Lord,
he fell flat on his face and said:

"Whoa is me! I am come undone!
I am a man of unclean lips
and I live among a people of unclean lips."
Isaiah 6:5

Then an angel took a coal of fire
and touched Isaiah's lips to purify him
to make Isaiah safe before God.

When a prophet like Isaiah feels that way
it brings up the question:
How will we feel in the presence of God?
Sinful humans will never be worthy on our own merits
to stand in the brightness of God's goodness.
But that's why the Father sent Jesus to live among us.
Jesus came to show us the Father's love
by His living, dying and rising again.
Jesus makes us safe if we are willing to let Him.

When Moses asked to see God's glory,
God told Moses that no man can see God and live,
but God put Moses in the cleft of the rock
and allowed His glory to pass before Him.
What passed before Moses was God's character:

"And he passed in front of Moses,
proclaiming, "The Lord, the Lord,
the compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,
maintaining love to thousands,
and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.
Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished..."
Exodus 34:5-7

The glory of God is not some vague ethereal light,
but the truth of His actual character!
Jesus came to reveal the Father's character.
Like Isaiah, for us to be safe in God's presence
we must come into unity with God's character.
This is not so much about what we do or not do,
but more about our relationship with God.
Behavior is just the outward manifestation
of what is actually going on inside our hearts.

When we spend time with Jesus, we begin to think like Him.
Our trust in God's loving ways will be reflected by our actions.

God's judgment is not like our worldly judicial system.
He says:

"My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine."
Isaiah 55:8

His justice is redemptive, not retributive.
He has no desire to get even
with people who don't want to follow Him.
God's justice plan is to restore every willing person
back into a loving relationship with Him.

God's judgment, just like His character is full of mercy.
Jesus said that the Father left the judging to Him.
He also said that He, Himself did not come to judge.
So where is the judge?
What is a judgment, without a judge?

Jesus said we would be judged by our own words.
Just as Shellie felt shame and embarrassment
to tell her roomate what she had done,
we will judge ourselves by our ability
to receive the light of God's love.

So the judgment is actually the revealing
of people's choices today and how they are judging God.
Do we judge God to be trust-worthy?
Is He the Advisor of all we do?
Will we choose to give up selfishness
and instead walk in harmony
with God's principle of other-centered love?
When people finally meet God,
There will be no city hall or gavel to bang.
Their final choices will simply be revealed.
Those who trust God, will rush straight into Jesus' arms.

But there will be others who have allowed
Satan's lies to keep them away from knowing God.
They will judge God to be untrustworthy and unsafe.
These will be extremely uncomfortable in God's presence.
They will even cry for the mountains to fall on them.

How will you judge God?
The hour of His judgment has come!

We Don't Need to Fear the Judgment
If We Know Jesus

Love has been perfected among us in this:
that we may have boldness
in the day of judgment;
because as He is, so are we in this world.
There is no fear in love;
but perfect love casts out fear.
Because fear involves torment.
But he who fears
has not been made perfect in love.
1 John 4:17,18

The Hour of God's Judgment Has Come

Fear God and give glory to Him,
for the hour of HIS judgment has come.
Revelation 14: 7

God is on Trial

It is true that some of them
did not believe the message.
But does this mean that God cannot be trusted,
just because they did not have faith?
No, indeed! God tells the truth,
even if everyone else is a liar.
The Scriptures say about God,
"Your words will be proven true, 
and in court you will win your case."
Romans 3:2

Jesus Did Not Come to Judge

For God did NOT
send His Son into the world to judge the world;
but that the world should be saved through him.
John 3:17

And if any man hear my sayings,
and keep them not, I judge him NOT:
for I came NOT to judge the world,
but to save the world.
John 12:47

The Father is Not Judging Us 

For the Father judges NO ONE,
but has committed all judgment to the Son.
John 5:22

The Father Himself Loves Us

In that day you will ask in My name,
and I do not say to you
that I will pray the Father for you;
For the Father Himself loves you...
John 16:26

We Are Judged By Our Own Actions

For in the same way you judge others,
you will be judged, and with the measure you use,
it will be measured to you. Matthew 7:2

The Judgment Reveals
If We Choose to Reject Jesus

He that rejects me,
and receives not my sayings,
has one that judges him:
the word that I speak,
the same will judge him in the last day.
John 12:48

The Judgment Reveals
How We Respond to the Light

This is the verdict:
Light has come into the world,
but men loved darkness
instead of light
because their deeds were evil.
Everyone who does evil hates the light,
and will not come into the light
for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
John 3:19,20

The Judgment is the
Diagnosis of Our Condition

Let the one who is doing harm
continue to do harm;
let the one who is vile
continue to be vile;
let the one who is righteous
continue to live righteously;
let the one who is holy
continue to be holy.

Look, I am coming soon,
bringing my reward with me
to repay all people according to their deeds.
I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the First and the Last,
the Beginning and the End.
Revelation 22:11-13

God's Glory is His Character

And he passed in front of Moses,
proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD,
the compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger,
abounding in love and faithfulness,
maintaining love to thousands,
and forgiving wickedness,
rebellion and sin.
Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished…
Exodus 34:5-7

Inspirational Thoughts:

God's love has been expressed
in His justice no less than in His mercy.
Justice is the foundation of His throne,
and the fruit of His love.
It had been Satan's purpose
to divorce mercy from truth and justice.
He sought to prove
that the righteousness of God's law
is an enemy to peace.
But Christ shows that in God's plan
they are indissolubly joined together;
the one cannot exist without the other.
"Mercy and truth are met together;
righteousness and peace
have kissed each other.
Ps. 85:10.

By His life and His death,
Christ proved that God's justice
did not destroy His mercy,
but that sin could be forgiven,
and that the law is righteous,
and can be perfectly obeyed.
Satan's charges were refuted.
God had given man
unmistakable evidence of His love.
-Desire of Ages p. 762