The Knife of Personal Condemnation

J. DENIS GLOVER

Once upon a time my grandmother told me about a ferocious fire that raged through the Great Dismal Swamp of eastern Virginia and North Carolina. The swamp is actually a vast peat bog, and as the heat built up, the very earth itself burned.

Every creature of the swamp fled for safety: man, woman, child, cow, bear, cat, and deer. And to someone standing and watching beyond the flames' reach, it was a curious sight to see friend and foe, human and animal, wild and tame, running side by side. They paid little attention to one another, so intent were they on reaching safety. As the story goes, no one told the swamp hermit he had to stay back. And nobody chased the bears back into the fire. And no one said to the snakes, "We're not letting you out. You're the least of God's creatures."

This reputed merciful suspension of judgment has always reminded me of Christ Jesus' striking statement on the same subject: "He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven."^{Luke 6:35–37;} Jesus' example encourages us to let each make his own demonstration of Life eternal in the privacy and sanctity of his own consciousness.