Luke 11:34-36; NASB
34Your eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35So watch out that the light in you is not darkness. 36Therefore if your whole body is full of light, without any dark part, it will be wholly illuminated, as when the lamp illuminates you with its light. Our eyes are amazing parts of our bodies. My wife, an optometrist, can tell you how amazing they are and how they declare the wonder and glory of God and His creation of us. My whole life I have had pretty good eyesight. I can see everything up close really well. Even turning 50, I still don’t need any reading glasses (although I have been assured by many that that day is coming). But, as well as I can see up close, I have a difficult time seeing things at a distance, especially any details (it makes golfing a bit challenging - thank goodness for friends). But it really hits me when I drive at night. I honestly cannot read street signs at all. I hate driving to new places that are unknown to me at night because I just can’t make out the names of the streets and where I am supposed to turn. Literally, the illuminated street signs on the signals, I cannot read the name of the street until I am at the stoplight. The darker it gets, the more difficult it is for me to see clearly. Jesus teaches us an interesting principle here in Luke 11. “Your eye is the lamp of your body.” In other words, it’s the old phrase, “monkey see, monkey do.” What Jesus is teaching is that the things we see, the things we focus on, the things our eyes desire will end up guiding how we live out our lives. So, the question comes to us then: what are we focusing on? What are we allowing to lead and guide us? What is our illumination level at? Nowadays we have light bulbs that can be dimmable, or set to work at 100%, 66% or 33% light. We want “mood” lighting. But have you ever gone to a restaurant that has the lights set to a lower setting to create a “mood,” but the only mood you are getting is frustrated because you cannot read the menu to order food? I know for me, when I have been less consistent with sitting in God’s Word, when my prayer life is not on point, when I am less in tune with God….I can sense and see my life falling apart. I have a shorter fuse. I get irritated quicker. My pride goes up. And it’s not that I have been focusing on darkness, I just haven’t focused on God. So, consequently, because I haven’t been focusing on God to illuminate my life, I have been looking at darker things. Sometimes we unintentionally look at darker things because we aren’t intentionally focusing on God. But, if we are being truly honest, there are times that we intentionally seek out dark things to look at. Jesus is telling us, teaching us, challenging us, reminding us that if our eyes are clear, our bodies will be illuminated with God’s light; but if our eyes are bad, then our lives will be full of darkness. The other warning, and more severe, is this: “So watch out that the light in you is not darkness.” How can the “light” in us be “darkness?” Isn’t that a little bit of an oxymoron? Well, one way is if we are continuing in a sinful lifestyle or pattern. If we haven’t really let God’s Word abide in our hearts and minds to lead and guide us. This comes from just trying to “add” God to our lives, and not really deny self. Another way is to simply go through the motions. Maybe you pray because Christians are supposed to pray. Maybe you read your Bible but never really expect to get anything out of it or expect God to do some amazing things. When we just do what we are supposed to do, but don’t seek with intent and expectation, we can allow the light in us to become darkness. George H. Morrison, in talking about this verse, says the following: “If any of my readers are like that – if they see the Carpenter but cannot see the Lord – let me ask them, tenderly and quietly, What kind of life have you been living?” The apostle John writes this to the church: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 5:7). Ultimately, I went to an eye doctor who could diagnose what my problem was, and bring about a correction that I am unable to do naturally by myself. And guess what, when I wear my glasses, I can see things in the distance and notice details. God and His Word are the things that can radically adjust our eyesight, that can bring us from a place of darkness to a place of illumination and clarity. But, like my glasses, I have to intentionally wear them in order to see the change. If you are looking for a radical transformation in your life, it starts with a self examination through God’s Word to readjust where you are looking, and to wholly fix our eyes on Jesus. Finally, let me close with this thought. C.S. Lewis writes: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” May our eyes and hearts and minds be focused on God’s transforming light and Word, that not only do we see it, but by it we see and interpret everything else. That we might not be partially illuminated, but wholly illuminated. -Pastor Brian
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Romans 14:13; NASB
Therefore let’s not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this: not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s or sister’s way. As a kid, I loved growing up watching cartoons. I think one of my favorites was Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote. All the shenanigans, all the traps. All the Acme packages the coyote bought. All the snares and obstacles he placed in the way to trip up the roadrunner. And the plans didn’t work. Never. Ever. Worked. The road runner always got away. I wish that were true of life today, especially the life of faith as we follow Jesus with all our heart. But the fact is, there are many obstacles in life. There are many stumbling blocks to us following and growing in our faith. Think about it for a minute. What are the stumbling blocks that get in the way of you following Jesus? Sure, we can name some biggies: pride, arrogance, anger, selfishness. You know, very big, very general terms. I was on a hike the other day and it seemed like every 20th step I was rolling my ankle. My friend behind me finally laughed and was like, “I don’t know how you do it but you seem to find every wrong place to step.” My response, “I belong on pavement.” But this Romans passage isn’t about stumbling blocks. It’s about making sure we don’t do anything to put a stumbling block in someone else’s way. There’s a scene in the movie “Big Daddy” with Adam Sandler, in which he is taking care of a young boy. They are watching a group of roller skaters skate backwards in between cones. Then suddenly, the child throws a stick on the ground and a roller skater comes by and completely crashes to the ground. The child threw a stumbling block in the way. He intentionally did something to cause someone else to fall. You and I can never do that. When the thought comes across our heart or mind, trust me, confess it to God right away and run away from that thought. It doesn’t do any good to anybody. It doesn’t even help you. And in this passage, Paul tells us the quickest, easiest way we can throw stumbling blocks in other people’s way. “Let’s not judge one another anymore.” Yeah, you read that right. Judging others is the quickest way to get them to fall. It’s the stick, the rock, the chain, the rope….whatever would cause someone to come crashing to the ground. Rather, let's focus on ways we can clear the way of obstacles. How can we do that? Well, there’s lots of ways. We can pray. We can make sure we are encouraging with our words. We can listen, and respond when appropriate. We can come alongside and try to help carry any of life’s burdens for them. Obviously, we can choose not to judge them. Ultimately, our goal should be to clear the way to get them closer to Jesus so they can hear what He is trying to say to them. So toss aside that stick of judgment. Throw it into the bushes so that it can never cause anyone to stumble again. Grab that broom of encouragement and get out there and start sweeping the path clear so the people close to you (friends, family, neighbors, co-workers) can get to Jesus. -Pastor Brian |
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