So there I was, prepared to have a day "off" from work...I sat in the Main St. courthouse, waiting to be called for jury duty. At first I was annoyed, as I waited in the jury lounge, that they had a judge explaining how important jury duty is as a civic service. Maybe it's because I feel like I'm contributing to society on a daily basis, or because I understood basic U.S. history from high school, but I was really annoyed at the judge's "history lesson" (I mean she basically told us that the U.S. became a country in 1776...are we all out of high school yet? You have to be 18 to serve, right??). Anyway, after waiting two hours, I was called to department 45 as the first panel of jurors. I was excited and wanted to be a juror so badly - I've never had the experience (heck, since I registered to vote at 18, I have never been assigned to a jury in my life - I was always sent home without leaving the jury lounge). And, since I've been in courtrooms with kids on my caseload before, I wondered what it was like to hear everything as part of a jury. Now, since I started this job, I'm resigned to the fact that as soon as anyone in the courtroom hears what I do for a living, and what my master's is in, I probably will be the first person kicked off of a jury...but I guess you never know. But I was still hopeful!
When the judge called the courtroom to order, he explained what the charges were against the man who was sitting in front of us, with his defense attorney. The defense attorney did not speak as eloquently as the prosecutor, which I thought was interesting. But it's what the judge said that made me realize how the Lord views us...and helped highlight and explain the parts of Scripture that talk about the Lord as judge, and our particular role with Him. The judge explained that our job, as the jury, was simply to apply the law and to determine if the accused had actually committed the crime he was being charged for. That was it. He said that the judgment, i.e. the sentence for having committed the crime, was his "burden to bear." That struck me, as I looked around the room and realized our relationship with God is the same. Many times, we look at our friends, family, even strangers, and judge them. We become angry because they have upset or violated us in some way, or we assume (without having any or all of the facts) that the other person had ill-intent in some fashion. I thought about myself and how often I not only want to accuse someone of wrong-doing, but how much I want to also punish them! I suppose it is human nature, and also why the Lord says that He is the Judge. He asks us to pray for our enemies, and to pray...and being in that courtroom reminded me that my job as the "jury" is simply to bring a matter before my Father and trust that it is His burden to judge justly and to make action if necessary (by His standards, not mine). What a neat lesson!! Just thought I would share. ;)
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