Pondering Judgement and restoration

Matthew 7:1-5 (ESV)

¹ "Judge not, that you be not judged. ² For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, andwith the measure you use it will be measured to you. ³Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? ⁵You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

As I re-visit this passage today I am so reminded that we as people have had a tendency to focus on the "judge not" idea that is presented here.  It is true that we are warned not to judge each other, yet we could stop there and really believe that means that when we see a brother or sister in sin that we had better not challenge them on it or we might be judging them.

The reminder I want us to embrace from this text is not only the warning about judgment but the teaching about restoration.  Jesus is giving us instruction to make sure we are taking a good hard look at ourselves before we go to our brother or sister about their sin.  We are not to review our life and then just agree that we have many logs in our eyes and so therefore we cannot go to our brother or sister because it would not be right.  Rather Jesus calls us to remove those logs, so that we can go to our brothers and sisters in love and help them to remove the speck from their eye.

We are called to become agents of restoration, not persecution and not complacency.  We need to seek humility in our walk with the Lord, asking the Spirit to show us what we need to remove from our eyes on a regular basis.  This way when we encounter a brother or sister in sin, we will walk tenderly with them to help them remove it from their life.

Spend time daily seeking humility and asking God to refine you and prepare you to help others in their walk.  Surrender fresh and ask Jesus to take care of these things in you and through you, because on your own you will only mess it all up.