Devotion 

The Wicked or the Righteous

Frances Taylor 

Which would you be? Which would I be? We all would like to think we would be among the righteous, but can we really be sure? You see, we're not the ones doing the judging! That's both a good thing and not so good. It's a good thing because we would probably throw away a lot of good people just because we didn't like them, were envious of their success, thought in a different way, or we considered them part of some enemy group. It's also a good thing because people who don't like us or are afraid of us can't throw us away. It's a bad thing because God knows everything including our thoughts and the opportunities to do good that we ignored. He knows our prejudices, our lack of forgiveness, the times we lied or failed to tell the truth when someone else took the blame for something we did. God knows the real us that lives beneath the surface. Our private face as well as our public face. The reality is that we don't need to wait for the end of the world for judgment. We will be judged at the end of our world, when we die. I'm pretty sure that all of us reading this will be waiting for the end of the world from the other side. Actually, I hope so. I'm not sure I want to live through the chaos and turbulence of the end of the world as described in Scripture. Let us make sure that our private face is as righteous as we try to make our public face so that we may enjoy eternity with all the saints.

Prayer 

Loving and merciful God, you keep reminding us that you have shown us the way to happiness in this world and the next. Please give us the graces we need to stay on the path to righteousness. Amen.