“And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”

How quickly I can look beyond my own faults in order to judge the faults of those around me. I can look out the window of my own life to see what’s wrong with those around me, rather than look in the mirror to see my own shortcomings and inadequacies. If I am called to introspection, I must avail myself to the “mirrors” that God puts in my life. I must be sensitive to God’s Spirit as He shines His light on my soul to “see if there be any wicked way in me.” I must look intently into God’s perfect Law and be not only a hearer, but also an obedient doer of His Word.

If I am like the man in James who looks at his face in the mirror, and then immediately forgets what he looks like when he turns away, then I will miss the opportunity to be changed and transormed into the likeness of Christ.  If I am constantly on the look-out to ”fix” those around me, I will be ignoring my own need for change. It certainly is easier to diagnose the ills of others and prescribe changes for them. It requires very little effort on my behalf. But when I seek to be obedient to make changes in my own life, it takes both inspiration AND perspiration.

Finally, the last part of this passage rang out more loudly and clearly than I have seen it before. If I humble myself before the Lord and sincerely ask Him to change me from the inside so that I’ll become more like Him, only then will I be able to be an effective blessing and help to those around me.

Lord, as I recognize my own weaknesses and yield myself to You, help me to accept Your grace. Only then will I begin to reflect Your grace and extend it to others. Help me get the logs out of my own eyes so I can see clearly enough to be a help and a blessing to those around me.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 20th, 2007 at 8:51 pm and is filed under Daily Readings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.