To stand alone…or perhaps not?

⁴ Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand… ⁷ For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; ⁸ for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.( Romans 14)

I have learned an incredibly valuable lesson in my life.  As one who has struggled with almost chronic bouts of ‘fear of man’ and ‘social anxiety,’ I have had to learn and train myself to get all of my encouragement from God.  Mankind is fickle, just watching the rise and fall of all those celebrities should tell us that.  You can be loved today, and hated tomorrow in the world of man.  But Our God’s love is Unchanging.  He doesn’t have opinions or perspectives, He is Truth Itself.  He is The Word made Flesh who has come down to dwell among us; to love us, redeem us and transform us.  When I feel the icy cold touch of judgment from people, I turn to God and His view of me.  To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand… God has shown me that when I stand before the Lord, I’ll be standing alone.  He alone knows my innermost being.  I will not stand under man’s judgments when I am in Heaven, so I refuse to let them affect me here on earth.  I am free to stand before God alone because of Jesus and His mediation for me.

⁷ For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; ⁸ for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.  Through the revelation of this truth about Freedom from the judgment of mankind, we are able to live for God alone.  I cannot express to you the unbelievable Freedom I have found in this truth.  I am remarably free from the “glarings and starings, the judgments and opinions of mankind.  God once told me, after I was deeply, deeply wounded by another believer, “Carole, no one can ever touch who you really are in Christ.  Your life is now hidden away with Me.  This wound is just a flesh wound, do not let it fester and become infected.  Since the flesh is passing away, as You grow in My Spirit, let this wound pass away with the flesh.  Because who you are,  Carole, is already settled in Heaven with me.  Let it go. 

¹⁰ But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. ¹¹ For it is written,

¹² So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.

Let us then, knowing this deeper truth about God’s love for us, tread carefully in our treatment of One  Another.  These were some of Christ’s final wishes for us before He left the Earth to return to His Father.  Let us love one another as Christ has loved us and given Himself up for us.

¹³ Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.(Romans 14)

So stand alone before Your Father in Heaven, He has released you from the judgments of mankind.  Receive that release, and you will walk in incredible freedom, like you have never walked before.  To stand alone…or not?  He has paid the price for your freedom from judgment.  But the choice to live in that freedom is yours.  Choose life.