Luke 6”39-42
“Jesus also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher. Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to notice the beam in your own eye? How can you say, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while you yourself fail to see the beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Jesus continues to challenge the way we think about ourselves and others. Again, this is not an excuse for us to turn a blind eye to other’s faults, but it is a call to accept that our sight should be healed our hearts should be changed before we criticise another.
There are many areas of our lives where our “logs in the eye” our prejudices affect our interaction with others. Our prejudices can be so blinding that only see the fault in others, we pick on their every thought and action because we are blinded by our own misconceptions. Prejudices result from us seeing the world only from our own limited perspective. the antidote for prejudice is compassion. St Francis said seek first to understand and then to be understood.”
In our lives often we are so concerned with being right, being liked, being successful that we look at the world and everything in it and how that relates to ourselves. We ask “How will this affect me, inconvenience me, benefit me?” And then we criticise everyone else according to how their actions impact on that. Well, that is what Jesus is addressing in us today. If we look at the world and those around us and ask’ How does this affect my neighbour? “ if we look at what they are going through and the impact on them – then we have removed the log from our own eye and our vision is more godly and we can deal with the real issues in our relationships.
The way of the world is very self centred. The way of Christ is very compassionate and merciful and focussed on others.
How is your way? Can you recognise your logs of self- interest? Today as you interact with others try to identify why you respond to them in a certain way and what log it is that Christ is highlighting to you. Then ask God for forgiveness and for a change of heart so that you can see clearly and overcome the challenges that we face together as human beings. Very often our interaction with others is a case of “my hurt meeting your hurt” and then hurting each other even more –
Let us seek a clearer vision. Let us change the way that we see the world so that we can make a positive impact on it. What Log’s, does Christ want us to confess so that he can forgive and be set free from to face the challenges of life with clarity of sight.
Let us pray
Lord you came to give sight to the blind – set us free from our prejudices and heal our relationships this we pray in Jesus mighty Name.
Amen.
