Scripture does not say, Let a man judge himself and so let him stay away, but, "So let him eat." Staying away is mere self-will. It is not enough to judge the mere action; it is ourselves we should judge. The state of our heart which allowed the failure should be subjected to scrutiny and self-judgment. If I am a child, I judge my ways, if they are unsuited to my father; but I do not set about to judge if I am a child, when I fail, but how naughty I have been as the son of such a father. I may behave very unworthily of my kind father, but my behavior is not the ground of the relationship. I cannot be a naughty child, unless I am a child; and the relationship is the ground of self-judgment, that I may behave myself suitably to the relationship, and to Him who is my Father.