By Francis Frangipane
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.
Adapted from Francis Frangipane's book, "The Three Battlegrounds" available at www.arrowbookstore.com.
