I the Jury, Find you Guilty

As I mentioned previously, I was recently called to serve on a jury. I thought “surely they will not want a pastor on a jury,” but I was wrong. I was the last person selected for the jury. This was a criminal trial of a man charged with possession of an illegal weapon. We heard the evidence presented against this young man as well as the defense for why he was in possession of such a weapon. We were also read to from books of law that described the criteria that made this an illegal weapon. From these we were to determine if this man was guilty or innocent of the crime in which he was accused. We deliberated for a while; although the evidence was fairly clear we wanted to make sure we had not missed anything. After coming to a conclusion we were called back to the court room and presented a verdict. It was Guilty.

This process reminded me that we will all stand trial before God on an appointed day. According to Revelation 20: 11-13, books will be opened and everything we have done on this earth will be laid before the judge. Romans 3:23 informs us that the evidence is against us. It is a clear guilty verdict. As the guilty verdict was read in the trial I served on, I felt profound sadness for the young man. He faced possible jail time for this serious felony. How it must grieve God when our sin forces Him to pronounce the verdict of guilty upon us. The only remedy to this is Christ’s substitution in bearing the punishment we deserve. Revelation 20:15 indicates that those whose names are written in the book of life will be saved from the lake of fire. Make sure your name is in the book.

A 4-Year-olds Perspective on our Legal System

Last week I had jury duty. I was selected to serve on a jury for a criminal case. A couple days later my 4-year-old daughter asked where I had been. I began explaining the judicial process in terms she could understand. I explained that when the police arrest someone for doing something bad, then that person has to go to the courthouse and appear before a judge and a jury of 12 people. I was one of those people. Then someone from the police tells the judge and jury what the person did to get arrested. Then that person has a lawyer that tells his side of the story. At this point, she interrupts me and says: “Well, then that lawyer is a liar!” (I wanted to say: “Yes! You understand!) But I tried to explain further that sometimes there were misunderstandings and that the person arrested was not always bad. I also explained that not all lawyers are liars. But she would not relent. “No, they are all liars! If they are saying that that bad man is good then he is a liar.” I was searching for a way to counter her understanding of our system of jurisprudence when I remembered that she knows a lawyer. “Your Sunday School teacher is a lawyer” I said. This stumped her for a minute… “He’s not a liar.” I continued. She agreed with me, but remained puzzled. Her final estimation was “no, he’s not a liar, but all the other lawyers are.”

Oh to live in such a black and white world as children do! (And no, I do not think all lawyers are liars… most of the time… especially the ones I know!)