Jesus said, “Or
how can you say to another person, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’
while you have a beam in your own eye?”
—
Matthew 7:4 (USC)
Imperious is the Word of God. It cuts through all falsity with vigour
to leave the truth exposed for all who would see. The lies are washed away by
the tide of reality when the Word of God rails against the would-be purveyors
of accusation. The Word of God is a lamp, a guide, a wonderful testament to the
fact of God, a beautiful assurance of good things here and to come!
Jesus, in this
passage of Scripture, is cutting right to the chase. “Why are you propagating a
lie?” he is saying. “Why are you insisting on refusing my voice in your life?” he adds. “When will you acknowledge
the glaringly personal truth that my grace gives by provision?” he concludes.
“Your life is not
about them, it’s about you!”
If we would be
disciples of the one and only true and living God — Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit, in unity — then we would contemplate the majesty of God’s Words as they
speak most powerfully and most definitely into our own experience.
Faith is principally
a vertical relationship, with the Lord above through the Holy Spirit. We only
ever get to fellowship — with veracity — horizontally when we are,
conditionally, in right relationship
with God; a thing contingent on intimacy. Right relationship can only ensue
when we have cast our own burdens, our sins, our own ineptitudes, and our own
lack before him, alone, who can help!
Oh what a tragedy it
is that people fill their minds with all proclivities of knowledge and yet miss
the mark when opposed to God’s heart!
God’s Spirit
admonishes us to humility. And if we listen to the rhythm of God’s heartbeat we
will find a peace — a tranquil shalom — superseding our otherwise shallow understanding.
For, if we listen for God through the stethoscope of life we shall find more
than enough to ponder within our own personal experience. And we can tell we
are on the right path — we grow and we live at peace and in harmony with
everyone. This is because we are self-interested in growth. Other people’s
growth is God’s business.
This life is all
about me — me and God. Intimacy with God through his Word, as we pray over it,
as we study it not simply for the mind’s edification, but for the soul’s
nourishment, is inner delight. We are shown our folly. We are shown our need.
We are shown the way. When I have my relationship with God established and
maintained, then, and only then, am I in the position to see that the speck in
the other person’s eye is actually a glimmer of God’s grace, as he works in
them.
The beam removed is
grace imparted.
***
Intimacy with God is
our best vehicle toward grace with others.
***
QUESTIONS in REVIEW:
1. You know persons who do this,
right? They pretend they know you and your situation and what’s right and wrong
for you. Behind their ignorant arrogance, what are they missing?
2. How is grace an outworking of
your life in the company of clowns?
© 2015 S. J. Wickham.
Note: USC version is Under the Southern Cross, The New Testament in Australian English
(2014). This translation was painstakingly developed by Dr Richard Moore, a NT
Greek scholar, over nearly thirty years.
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