Seeking Jesus First Aug. 26, 2025
Can you see past the nose of your face to help others?
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:1–5, NKJV)
When we fly on an airplane, they train us to put our own oxygen mask prior to helping someone else do it lest we faint prior to helping others or ourself.
The LORD Jesus gives us wonderful reasons to deal with our own blindness before correcting the vision of others. Besides the obvious impairment of judgement when we are carrying around sinful habits of the flesh, we see that we can over or under compensate very easily. First, have you ever had blurred vision while trying to read something small? It is extremely difficult to maintain the right perspective. Second, a person who makes excuses for his own sins and habits, potentially, will either overcompensate by being harder on others or he will under compensate and excuse everyone. Either. Way, the truth is either ignored or spoken without Christ’s redemptive love infused into it.
Condemnation does not transform. Ignoring a problem does not promote personal growth.
Therefore, we spend time with The LORD Jesus by His Spirit who is with us and in us. We spend time reading and meditating in His word. We allow Holy Spirit to convict our hearts of truth and righteousness. We repent of our sins. We leave our former sinful habits behind. “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14, NKJV) We allow The Spirit and The Word to do the work in us by humbling ourselves and turning from those things that the Spirit and the Word tell us to turn from. “…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…” (an excerpt from Heb. 12:1-2)
When we are walking in this place of faith, hope and love, we may be able to perform “eye surgery” on those who have submitted themselves to us as disciples of Jesus Christ. Remember, without being under authority, we have no authority.