The Overcomer Life

I was often interested in Judas. Yes, it is easy to hate Judas for what he did to Jesus. But the more I studied scripture, the more I felt bad for Judas. I feel like he never fully surrendered to Jesus. That was me for years, mainly due to fear. Another way of studying Judas is what happened after the betrayal. How could I still be angry at a man since his actions led to my salvation and deliverance? I cannot be angry with Judas anymore.

Judas never repented either. He committed suicide. He didn’t remember what Jesus ever said and just focused more on his own sins. I can only imagine what would have happened if he never committed suicide and just waited 3 days later instead.

We could be so close to deliverance if we would get the focus off of ourselves. I know it’s easy to focus on ourselves and our own sins since the world fell. Shame and regret is hard to go through. Judas couldn’t get past his mistakes. Judas couldn’t repent. Did he know how to repent? It’s hard to repent with so much shame. The memories of shame hold us back. Later in the epistles, scripture says that it is God’s will for ALL men to be saved. All is all. Judas was a man. It’s heartbreaking when someone doesn’t repent. God’s love is greater than all of our sin.

Jesus said to love our enemies. I can’t even think of Judas as my enemy anymore. I just see him as a lost creation. He came so close. It’s God’s will for no one to perish so I would mourn for Judas. I cannot be mad at the action that led to my salvation and deliverance. We all can turn to Jesus no matter what we’ve done. Jesus is Lord no matter what we’ve done.