Matthew 7:3-4 –LOG-EYED OR CROSS-EYED?
How amazing is the technology that implants a microchip in the eye, enabling a blind person to see. One man sees his girlfriend’s smile for the first time, while another is able to read his own name. The Bionic eye is an incredible breakthrough… But what if the specialist was blind?
Jesus says we are blind eye specialists when we judge others. In Matthew 7:5 (NLT) He says “Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”
Enabling someone to see is important. Jesus is not giving an invitation to TURN A BLIND EYE to someone with a speck. 1 Corinthians 5:12 (NLT) says “It ISN’T your responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to judge (with discernment and love, not petty criticism) those inside the church who are sinning”. I am to help with the speck in my brothers eye, but Jesus is telling me not to blunder in to do delicate eye surgery, scalpel in hand, when I am LOG-EYED! Brown eyed, blue eyed, green eyed, one eyed, glass eyed presents no problem, but I can do a lot of damage, stumbling around, log-eyed, battering my friends who only have specks.
Deuteronomy 12:8 (NASB) speaks of “every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes.”), but I can choose the alternative. I can choose to do whatever is right in God’s eyes, and live my life from the basis of an objective, non-negotiable, consistent, verifiable set of ABSOLUTE TRUTHS that I find in God’s Word. It will be ONE-EYED in the sense that it is God’s truth, and not based on my own opinions or on public consensus. Proverbs 3:5-7 (NLT) says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding…”
My motivation for making a judgment concerning others, however, will not simply to be based on a set of laws and some conceited self-righteous attitude! As a follower of Christ, God invites me to get rid of that critical, arrogant log in my own eye and be an instrument of His discerning, forgiving love. 1 John 1:8- (NLT) says “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we CONFESS our sins to Him (ie open our eyes to our sins as God sees them), He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”
When Jesus speaks of logs and specks He is not saying that there are some SMALL SINS and some LARGE SINS? He is trying to tell us that although ALL SINS ARE BIG, some sins have larger CONSEQUENCES than others. Critical, judgmental attitudes and words always have BIG consequences. James 1:26 (NLT) says “If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.”
Galatians 6:1-2 (NLT) which says “Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.”
Extracting specks is delicate business. I will lose the log in my own eye first and seek to apply the tweasers of God’s Word to alleviate the irritation and harm that is happening in my friend’s life. It might hurt a little but Proverbs 27:6 (NLT) says “Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.”
Christ paid an expensive price for the lumber in my eyes. It was the lumber of critical, callous, cold judgments that formed the beams of a rough-hewn cross upon which my Saviour died. I am reminded that it is the logs in my own eyes that can crucify others.
Am I LOG-EYED OR CROSS EYED? Do I see the beams of the Cross this Easter, where Jesus was judged for my sin, and where, as I bow before Him, my perspective is irrevocably changed by His mercy and grace. When I don’t see eye to eye with others, the invitation He gives me is to see them through the eyes of the Cross.
Pastor Ross