The Log in Your Eye

Have you ever had a conversation with a friend or family member about something in their life that truly concerned you because you knew that “something” was harmful for them?  It is difficult to discuss those issues when we know we have things in our own lives that may be just as, or even more harmful. 

It’s not uncommon to hear someone refer to the passage from the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus says, “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye.”  We often shrink away from helping someone because we don’t want to be called a hypocrite.  We decide to just let it be and walk away.  It’s easier to allow others to continue on a path of destruction than it is to look in the mirror and examine our own heart and deal with whatever is there.  But that is not what Jesus said to do.  He said to first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

I’ve been reading The Deeper Christian Life by one of my favorite authors, Andrew Murray.  His book was published in 1895, and even then, he spoke of how Christians are content to be merely converted but not sanctified.  We correctly teach in our churches that Jesus will accept us as we are.  I was reading one of my own articles today from a few years ago titled “Always Loved” which talks about how God’s love for us never falters, even when we disobey Him.  I am grateful for God’s mercy and grace, His unfailing love for me.  But if I am content to live with the log in my eye, I will never experience the joy of communion with God.  If we are not willing to deal with the log, we are not available to be used by God the way He wants to use us.

After I had surgery a few years ago for a detached retina, the doctor told me that I would continue to see floaters, dark specks in my eye for a while, but eventually, my brain would train itself to no longer see those specks.  The specks are still there, but I no longer see them.  In the same way, we often train ourselves to dismiss certain sinful habits, behaviors and attitudes as normal.  We have logs that we see and ignore, and we have logs that we will only see if we ask God to reveal them once again to us. 

Don’t ignore the log in your eye.  Take the log out so you can see clearly how to help someone.  Be all that God created you to be!