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"And this is the verdict,
that the light came into the world,
but people preferred darkness to light,
because their works were evil."
It's really easy for me to impersonalize the work "people." "People" are a really good scapegoat. "People" have always made my life more difficult than it needs to be. Just in the same way, it's easy for me to sit back and judge those "people" that preferred darkness to light, whose works were evil.
Today the word "verdict" jumped out to me. The verdict is the result of judgment, and the only verdict that matters is God's. And guess who "people" are to God... They're His much beloved children. They're me. "People" can be impersonal, but this passage from John is not.
"And this is the verdict,
that the light came into the world,
but Amanda preferred darkness to light,
because her works were evil.
For she who does wicked things hates the light
and does not come toward the light,
so that her works might not be exposed."
This is why I need a savior. If you and I don't recognize this in ourselves, then Jesus died for nothing. BUT...
"God so loved AMANDA that he gave his only-begotten Son,
so that if she believes in him she might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the Amanda,
but that she might be saved through him.
If Amanda believes in him, she will not be condemned,
but if she does not believe, she has already been condemned,
because she has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God...
But if Amanda lives the truth, she comes to the light,
so that her works may be clearly seen as done in God."
Woah. As long as I live on this earth, the jury is still out on my judgment. Please God, let me live well that you might be glorified in me.
-Amanda Nobis, Director of Evangelization