If we will move in true
discernment, our view of life must be purged of human thoughts and reactions.
We must perceive life through the eyes of Christ.
To Discern, You Cannot Judge
We will never possess true
discernment until we crucify our instincts to judge. Realistically, this can
take months or even years of uprooting old thought-systems that have not been
planted in the divine soil of faith and love for people. To appropriate the
discernment that is in the "mind of Christ" (1 Cor. 2:16), we must
first find the heart of Christ. The heart and love of Jesus is summed up in His
own words: "I did not come to judge the world, but to
save the world." (John 12:47)
Spiritual discernment is the
grace to see into the unseen. It is a gift of the Spirit to perceive the realm
of the spirit. Its purpose is to understand the nature of that which is veiled.
However, the first veil that must be removed is the veil over our own hearts.
For the capacity to see into that which is in another's heart comes from Christ
revealing that which is in our own hearts. Before He reveals the sin of
another, Jesus demands we grasp our own deep need of His mercy. Thus, out of
the grace that we have received, we can compassionately minister grace to
others. We will know thoroughly that the true gift of discernment is not a
faculty of our minds.
Christ's goal is to save, not
judge. We are called to navigate the narrow and well-hidden path into the true
nature of men's needs. If we would truly help men, we must remember, we are
following a Lamb.
This foundation must be laid
correctly, for in order to discern, you cannot react. To perceive, you must
make yourself blind to what seems apparent. People may react to you, but you
cannot react to them. You must always remain forgiving in nature, for the
demons you cast out will challenge you, masquerading as the very voice of the
person you seek to deliver. You must discern the difference between the
oppressing spirit and the person oppressed.
Thus, Jesus prepared His
disciples to be proactive in their forgiveness. Using Himself as their example,
He taught, "Everyone who speaks a word against the
Son of Man, it will be forgiven him." (Luke 12:10) Jesus prepared His heart to forgive men
before they ever sinned against Him. He knew His mission was to die for men,
not condemn them.
Likewise, we are called to His
mission as well. In His prayer to the Father, Jesus said, "As
You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them." (John 17:18) We are called to die that others may
live. Therefore, we must realize that before our perception develops, our love
must mature until our normal attitude is one of forgiveness. Should God reveal
to us the hearts of men and then call us to release them from captivity, we
cannot react to what they say. As our perception becomes more like Christ
Himself and the secrets of men's hearts are revealed to us, we cannot even
react to what they think.
If we do not move in divine
forgiveness, we will walk in much deception. We will presume we have
discernment when, in truth, we are seeing through the veil of a critical
spirit. We must know our weaknesses, for if we are blind to our sins, what we
assume we discern in men will merely be the reflection of ourselves. Indeed, if
we do not move in love, we will actually become a menace to the body of Christ.
This is exactly what Jesus taught
when He said:
Do not
judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be
judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you
look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that
is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, "Let me take the
speck out of your eye," and behold, the log is in your own eye? You
hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see
clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. - Matthew 7:1-5
Repentance is the removal of the
"logs" within our vision; it is the true beginning of seeing clearly.
There are many who suppose they are receiving the Lord's discernment concerning
one thing or another. Perhaps in some things they are; only God knows. But many
are simply judging others and calling it discernment. Jesus commanded us to
judge not. The same eternal hand that wrote the Law on stones in the old
covenant is writing the law of the kingdom on tablets of flesh today. This word
to "not judge" (by "outer appearance") is just as immutable
as His Ten Commandments. It is still God speaking.
The Goal is to See Clearly
The judgmental carnal mind always
sees the image of itself in others. Without realizing it is seeing itself, it
assumes it is perceiving others. Jesus refers to the person who judges as a
"hypocrite." The Lord is not saying we should totally stop thinking
about people. He wants us to be able to help one another. The emphasis in
Jesus' command to "not judge" is summarized in His concluding remark:
"First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to
take the speck out of your brother's eye." The way we help is not by
judging but by seeing clearly. And we do not see clearly until we have been
through deep and thorough repentance, until the instinct to judge after the
flesh is uprooted.
We have seen that Jesus
paralleled speaking to people about their sins with taking specks out of their
eyes. The eye is the most tender, most sensitive part of the human body. How do
you take a speck out of someone's eye? Very carefully! First, you must win
their trust. This means consistently demonstrating an attitude that does not
judge, one that will not instinctively condemn. To help others, we must see
clearly.
If you seek to have a heart that
does not condemn, you must truly crucify your instinct to judge. Then you will
have laid a true foundation for the gift of discernment, for you will have
prepared your heart to receive the dreams, visions and insights from God. You
will be unstained by human bias and corruption.
Francis Frangipane
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