2009 is a watershed year for me in one area. It is truly the first year in which I began to truly understand what “Laodicea” meant.
Laodicea = “justice of the people”, “the people decide” or “the people judge”.
1Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:1-5, King James Version)
This is not to say we should never judge. However, take heed to what and whom we should be busy judging:
31For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. (1 Corinthians 11:31, King James Version)
And yet, it seems that so many in the COG community, many of whom are given authority, will engage in treating others harshly. Some will shun their own family.
I believe more today than I ever have that God allowed or even caused the breakup in the 90s because we had as a community become too complacent (“I am rich”), arrogant (“increased with goods”, and “knowledge puffeth up”) and thought we had all the answers (“have need of nothing”). God separated the wheat and the chaff, and each started grouping to its own kind.
However, let us not be lazy or sleepy! The refining process is ongoing!