Bad Call

“We were robbed!” That’s the cry of teams and fans when a bad call costs them a win.

Last week we heard it when a bad call at the World Cup Soccer Tournament cost Team USA a win over Slovenia. (If you missed the news, a referee called a foul and disallowed the goal that would’ve won the game. Result? A tie. However, everyone agreed it seemed like a bad call.)

We heard a similar outcry a couple of weeks ago when a baseball umpire missed a call at first base and it cost the pitcher a perfect game. What’s the problem?

Referees and umpires judge their calls based on what they see and hear. And, being human, they make bad calls once in a while. They can’t see and hear everything.

We’ve also heard of referees, umpires or judges that were corrupt or intentionally threw a game, a race or a match. Not to mention the favoritism shown by some judges. Then there are the missed calls and bad calls due to errors in judgment.

Wouldn’t it be great to have a referee, umpire or judge that never missed a call or made a bad ruling? Well, according to the Bible, one day we will.

“Now, hold on just a minute! The Bible predicts that? Since when?”

Speaking of Jesus Christ the Bible says, “He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.”

It adds, “The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding; the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.”

Doesn’t that sound like the one you want calling the shots?

On one hand it’s encouraging. No cheating will get by him. On the other hand, since he knows all the facts, we’re in deep trouble because we can’t hide the truth from him.

The Bible teaches that one day “we will all stand before God’s Judgment Seat.” It says, “Each of us will give an account of himself to God.” Then it adds that Jesus will judge everyone who has lived on earth.

How do you think you’ll do?

If all of us were to be judged only on the basis of what we have done and the thoughts and intentions of our hearts, we’d be in serious trouble. Why? Because the Bible says that God’s standard is perfection. He doesn’t ‘grade on a curve.’

Since by our own admission, “No one’s perfect!” –that means we’re all in trouble!

The good news of the Bible is you don’t have to fix all your mistakes (and who could?). You don’t have to exhaust yourself doing more good works than bad (never knowing if it’s enough).

Because God accepts Christ’s death on the cross as payment for our sin, he can forgive us. Plus, because God is willing to credit us with Jesus’ perfect life, our lives can still be a win instead of a loss. But we must come to Jesus in faith. And that’s where some struggle.

We are a proud people. We think that salvation is more complicated than it really is. But it’s not. The secret is to stop trying and start trusting God to love us and forgive us as he promised.

Once God accepts us because of our relationship to Christ, all of our service and good works are acceptable to him. We can serve him with joy and not fear because we know he loves us.

So the next time you see a bad call, don’t get depressed. The referee is just human. Let it remind you that Jesus Christ, the perfect judge, will credit you with his “win” if you trust in him.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!