Luke 6:41 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye[b] when you have a log in your own? 42 How can you think of saying, ‘Friend,[c] let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? 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.
My devotional book caused me to think of this passage in a different light than I've previously read it, and that is in regards to our children (emphasis mine)......
Certainly our children's sins need to be lovingly confronted. But before we speak, before we point, we would be wise to take a look in the mirror with eyes willing to see our own vanity, our own idolatrous obsessions, our own selfishness. Our children struggle with the same sins we do; we've just become better at justifying and ignoring them. We need to examine ourselves to see if we're disciplining our children for sins that we allow ourselves to get away with. Ultimately parents who are grieved and humbled over their own sins are best prepared to deal with the "speck" in their child's eye. If we deal as firmly with our own sins as we do with our children's, demonstrating a commitment to obedience as well as an expectation of grace and mercy, we'll be living out authentic faith before them, the kind of faith they'll likely want to live out themselves.
Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Deuteronomy 5:1-6:25, Luke 7:11-35, Psalm 68:19-35, Proverbs 11:29-31
No comments:
Post a Comment