International
10 May 07
Seeing Clearly – Luke 6:37-43
37"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
39He also told them this parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.
41"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
A few weeks ago ‘Kingsley’ the lion, the Reading FC mascot, was ordered from the touchline because, in wearing the Reading strip, he was confusing the match officials. Reading Manager Steve Coppell joked in the post-match interview, “I can see why the referee got confused he does look like many of my players!” It’s a silly illustration, but whether it’s an official calling a foul, or a player ‘seeing’ the right shot to play at the right time, seeing-clearly is so important in sport. In this section of Jesus’ teaching he urges us to see things as they really are.
Being blind to your own faults
The parable in verse 39 explains how blind we can often be. The picture is of a person who’s oblivious to their own faults, thinking they can see clearly but instead leading themselves and others straight into a pit. Jesus explains in verse 40 that if we will let him train us, by listening to what he says, then we can avoid such dangers.
You see when we read teaching like ‘forgive and you will be forgiven’, then it sounds fine when we’re out of the heat of the situation, but the moment someone wrongs us – it seems like the hardest thing to do. “But…” we think, “You don’t know what they’ve done!” “It was such a dirty challenge,” or “she’s so out of order in what she says about me to the other players.” We convince ourselves that clearly we’re not meant to forgive this person – it’s just too hard.
Seeing yourself clearly
However, Jesus shows us in verse 41 that when we think like this – we’re not seeing ourselves clearly; we’ve become blind to our faults. Jesus uses the illustration of a plank in our own eye to make two points; firstly that our fault is significantly bigger than the other person's (because it is not only that we are at fault but also that we don’t recognise our fault!) and that our failing prevents us from being able to help others with theirs.
In particular Jesus has in mind here our failings before a perfect and holy God. How can we self-righteously rail against the way others have wronged us, when we really grasp how we’ve wronged God? And how can we refuse to forgive others when we know the enormity of the debt that God has forgiven us for? It’s only when we perceive these realities that we’ll start to have hearts that are able to forgive.
Seeing your reward
Jesus doesn’t just warn us against the dangers of judgementalism and self-righteousness, but he also outlines the blessings to us of being gracious and forgiving. Grace multiplies. Often in this life as the first act of forgiveness breaks a cycle of animosity and repaying wrong with wrong, but always in the world to come where grace ‘flows like a mighty river. That’s why Jesus says that if we give in this way, then it will be given to us ‘in good measure’ and ‘running over’.
Pete
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