To Encourage You

Matthew 7:3 “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”

Have you ever noticed how obvious other people’s faults are?  The Bible tells us that we are experts at seeing them.  It’s like being able to see a speck in someone else’s eye.  No matter how small, we are very good at picking it out.  And if it’s not so obvious, we’re more than happy to look as closely for it as someone who is looking to find a piece of dirt or an eyelash floating around in someone else’s eye. 

And yet, what we are very poor at is seeing the imperfections and sin in our own lives.  We are very tuned to something being in our own eye physically. We can’t tolerate the smallest speck of something being there, for while it’s there, it irritates us to no end and we will not stop looking for it until we find it and get that thing out.  However, spiritually, Jesus tells each of us in the verse above that we have logs in our eyes, and we don’t even notice them.   Yet others are obviously aware of them, even if they never tell us, and certainly, the pure and sinless Son of God is aware of them, but He is nevertheless patient, loving, kind and gracious toward us.  It is amazing how different He is from us in this aspect of life! 

These are such sobering truths.  Don’t you wish you had Jesus’ heart, His compassion, His unconditional love?  I know I do!  It is this very thing that He longs to give us, if we will just ask, and ask sincerely.  He has promised us, in the same Sermon on the Mount in which He spoke the words above that if we “Ask, . . .  it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7).” 

What a wonderful thing to ask for, and what a wonderful promise this is from the all-powerful Savior of the world.