If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people
impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of
your exile.
Most often, in my experience, when we are talking
about somebody’s deeds, in relationship to God, we are talking about their bad
deeds, their naughty deeds, their sinful deeds.
These are the deeds that bring down judgment upon us because we are
sinners. It dates back to Adam and Eve,
they sinned, it’s in the DNA or something.
But our deeds are not all bad (thank the Lord!). Some of the most amazing people I know, when
it comes to deeds, are not even of the faith, at least by word. However, they most certainly look like they
are of the faith if you measure them by their deeds.
I would like to think that an impartial judgment of my
deeds would bring me out somewhere in the middle. I’ve done my share of sinning, not Ten
Commandment sinning…well, taking the Lord’s name in vain…but I do not murder,
or commit adultery, and I am not always sure if coveting is simply jealousy of
someone else’s stuff, or an active desire to steal it.
The Father is going to judge us impartially according
to our deeds. The real deal here, as
with anything in our faith, is Jesus.
Coming to him, believing in him, molding our life after him, that is the
transformation of our deeds. It is the
transformation of our whole person.
Peter is calling his readers to be active in carrying
forward the word of God. Now he
challenges them to invoke the Father who judges their deeds. In Jesus, that is a non-issue. Judgment has already been rendered, and the
verdict is mercy. It was never about
balancing the good and the evil.
Coming to Jesus in good faith, doing deeds according
to love of God and love of Neighbor, this should be for us a joy that he
judges, not a fear. To answer the title
of this post, yes, in Jesus, our deeds are worthy of the Father.
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