1 Corinthians 4:3-4
I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.
Paul knew who was in control of his life. With Christ as the sovereign Lord of his life, Paul only answered to one person. If if earthly authorities would take his life, which they eventually did, he had no fear because he knew his outcome. His perspective was on eternal matters. This gave him confidence when dealing with people. As long as his conscience was clear, he had nothing to fear about what others thought or said about him. That is a difficult level to live. We place so much importance on what other people think of us. Our self-image is often dependent upon what others think about us. Our self-worth is found in others. Who is the judge in a situation like this? We give up our right to a fare trial if we allow others to be the judge. If we allow God to be the judge, and then have a clear conscience because we have been forgiven by through the blood of Christ, then we should have no fear of what others thinks or say about us. This is a hard to do but that is where we find freedom. Our freedom as Christians comes not in what others say about us but in what God says about us. And what does God say about us? That he loves us unconditionally and created us to love back. God has the best planned for us if we will just acknowledge him as first and foremost.
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