Judge what is right

Luke 12:57 "Why can't you decide for yourselves what is right?"

In the context of this discourse Jesus meaning is clear.  Do not wait for judgment day.  Judge what is right, for your own actions.  And do what is right.  Do not wait for others to judge for you, take it upon yourself to be responsible.  Do not wait for God or your boss to judge. 

In the context, before this Jesus was speaking of people's natural ability to judge the weather.  We do not give it a second thought.  We look outside and try to predict.  And often we are right, because we know what to look for.  It is the same for more important things.

Jesus is saying, yes we can do a pretty good job of predicting the weather.  In the same fashion we can do a pretty good job of predicting more important things, like the trajectory of our country and our world.  He is saying "judge the times".

The times, in Jesus' times, were ripe for the Messiah.  Many people were expectant.  The Jewish leaders could read the scriptures and knew the time foretold in the prophets was about now.  Yet they still did not understand that the Messiah was standing before them.  They did not read the times right.  Jesus was inviting them to reread, to see again, this time to judge correctly.

Also too, despite all the warning about a Messiah that would change everything, many people just kept on living as they were, day by day, eating drinking, marrying, working.  They did not want to look beyond their day to day existence.  Perhaps they felt powerless.  Whatever was going to happen would happen.  But Jesus was trying to tell them that was not so.  Just as they could see weather changes and make adjustments to their behavior, so if they read the political and spiritual signs they could also make changes.

Do you try to read present times?  Do you seek God's wisdom about our country and our world?  I think we can read the signs and we can make adjustments to what we see.  We can and we should.  Like the Jewish leaders we may not be right.  We may have to reread again the signs when no facts occur and new events happen.  But we should never give up trying to be actively involved in the world.

There are many Christians speaking prophetically to our world.  I was a reader of David Wilkerson before he died.  He spoke to the future of this country and how we could act to repent and change our behavior.

Jesus spoke to our behavior as faithful servants of God:  (Luke 12:42-48 GNB)  The Lord answered, "Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant? He is the one that his master will put in charge, to run the household and give the other servants their share of the food at the proper time. How happy that servant is if his master finds him doing this when he comes home! Indeed, I tell you, the master will put that servant in charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself that his master is taking a long time to come back and if he begins to beat the other servants, both the men and the women, and eats and drinks and gets drunk, then the master will come back one day when the servant does not expect him and at a time he does not know. The master will cut him in pieces and make him share the fate of the disobedient. "The servant who knows what his master wants him to do, but does not get himself ready and do it, will be punished with a heavy whipping. But the servant who does not know what his master wants, and yet does something for which he deserves a whipping, will be punished with a light whipping. Much is required from the person to whom much is given; much more is required from the person to whom much more is given.

If we know we should act then we should act!  We should be sensible servants of our father God
.
We are tempted to think we are powerless.  We cannot change society.  Perhaps in a sense we are powerless.  But we can do our part.  What we can control we can do to be faithful and sensible, knowing that God will come back eventually and check on us.  Who knows?  If others do the same, it will make a difference.  We may never know how our actions help.  But we can trust God.  He knows and is pleased with us.  He will bless his faithful servants.  And Jesus says he will whip those who think they can get away with ignoring God.  Let's not be like that!