"Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you." He also told them a parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take out the speck that 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, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye. For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great." Luke 6:37-49
Today, for the moment at least, I am going to dispense with the retelling. There is a lot we could explore in this passage, and it may be that I will get into some of it later in the week. Maybe... maybe not. I am not at home, so it's hard to say how the week will go. Instead, I want to look mainly at the last part of this passage. Jesus really lays it out here, asking why we would call Him "Lord" but not do what He says. It is an extremely good question, for it seems that we sometimes call Him, "Lord" in the same way we may call each other "Buddy." However, I will not explore that at the moment but merely leave it as food for further thought. The end of this passage is the bit that really has been showing up in my life lately--both personally and in what I have been reading outside of the Word. It really is a powerful, profound truth that is found in the comparison between the wise and foolish builders, as they are called in Matthew's gospel.
I was awakened Sunday morning sometime between 5:0 and 6:00 a.m. by a horrific migraine and a fun little addition known as occipital neuralgia. That is not an abnormal situation for me, but this particular incident was poorly timed. The whole trip was an opportunity for my three children and myself to visit family, including my dad whose new house in Florida we had not yet seen. Sunday was the day of a 10-hour drive, and kicking it off being roused by pain was not ideal. Had my faith been built on a pain-free life or on obedience with no resistance, days like that would erode it until there was nothing left.
As a matter of fact, the return of the somewhat vicious cycle of migraines and related headaches has raged against the structure of my faith, slamming into the walls only to withdraw to crash again more violently. Weak spots have been discovered and shored up against further attacks, and yet more and more elements have been added to the fray. My husband's job has been a nightmare and he is emotionally and physically drained. My children have been combative in school. My very desire to homeschool has been nearly dissolved by the cumulative toll of this many-layered tempest. In fact, everything surrounding the foundation of my faith seems to either be broken up and washed away or in imminent danger of crumbling. The return of yet another headache/migraine cycle has merely been the tipping point. That is, it would be if I did not know God has some plan in it.
I drove to Florida Sunday. I was still shaky when I packed up our things. The nausea was safely settled, or at least mostly so, but my head was still a mess, yet I started the journey. Late, but not too late. We made it safely and I enjoyed hours of uninterrupted praise and prayer to my Father despite the pain. During this time the lingering headache faded. I have to be honest, though--if I had not already experienced God's mercy and grace in the midst of my chronic head issues, I probably would have been in no mood to praise Him that morning. If I had not experienced the goodness of Him through obedience in smaller ways in the past, the increasing frequency and severity of migraine pain would leave my faith decimated. But I have, and I was grateful for the full abating of my affliction. However, I would have praised Him anyway. I do have moments of doubt and fear, of course, but because I have experienced that God is good despite my anguish, I am now able to echo David's words in those times, "Why are you cast down, oh my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God, for I will again praise Him..."
Steve Saint is surely another who has experienced the faithfulness of the Lord through not only hearing what He says, but living it out. As a young boy, he suffered a tremendous emotional agony when his father met death gruesomely at the spears of the Waodani, a tribe of natives in the Ecuadorean jungle. These people were caught in a cycle of fear, hate, and revenge slayings. Steve could have grown up hating these men and longing to avenge his father, but instead he grew up loving them. He went to live with his aunt Rachel, his father's sister, who lived in the midst of the people who had speared her brother a couple of years after the incident.
Young Steve was somewhat adopted by what he calls his "tribal grandfather," a man who encouraged the other Waodani young people to teach him and help him. The young Steve ached for the loss of his father, but even as a boy he obeyed the Lord's words to "love your enemies, do good to those who hate you..." He was merciful, just as his Father was merciful. And because of his obedience, he experienced a joy he never could have known had he merely pursued a vendetta against the Waodani. Had he not obeyed and seen God's goodness worked out in the midst of his own woe, he would have been ill-prepared to remember God's goodness when his own daughter died years later while she was a young woman. Though his faith surely suffered wracking blows by this new storm, it held. It stood true because it was built not on the gifts that God gives, but on the Giver Himself.
It is only trust in the supreme goodness of God that will survive the myriad, crushing torrents of suffering that life can bring. It is only in obedience to what He says--in not merely hearing the Word, but doing what it says--that we can find that faith tried, refined, and made pure enough to stand in the next onslaught. My precious friends, this life will send a deluge of bad news, pain, and suffering. Be sure that you have built on the only solid Rock--our God who is greatly to be praised, whose ways are higher than our ways, who gives joy in the midst of the dark valleys of life. Be sure that it is Him you love, Him you trust, and Him you obey. Only there, grounded and centered in His perfect will, can we find respite in the onslaught. Trust in Him and not in your circumstances. He is worthy and He is worth it all.
As a matter of fact, the return of the somewhat vicious cycle of migraines and related headaches has raged against the structure of my faith, slamming into the walls only to withdraw to crash again more violently. Weak spots have been discovered and shored up against further attacks, and yet more and more elements have been added to the fray. My husband's job has been a nightmare and he is emotionally and physically drained. My children have been combative in school. My very desire to homeschool has been nearly dissolved by the cumulative toll of this many-layered tempest. In fact, everything surrounding the foundation of my faith seems to either be broken up and washed away or in imminent danger of crumbling. The return of yet another headache/migraine cycle has merely been the tipping point. That is, it would be if I did not know God has some plan in it.
I drove to Florida Sunday. I was still shaky when I packed up our things. The nausea was safely settled, or at least mostly so, but my head was still a mess, yet I started the journey. Late, but not too late. We made it safely and I enjoyed hours of uninterrupted praise and prayer to my Father despite the pain. During this time the lingering headache faded. I have to be honest, though--if I had not already experienced God's mercy and grace in the midst of my chronic head issues, I probably would have been in no mood to praise Him that morning. If I had not experienced the goodness of Him through obedience in smaller ways in the past, the increasing frequency and severity of migraine pain would leave my faith decimated. But I have, and I was grateful for the full abating of my affliction. However, I would have praised Him anyway. I do have moments of doubt and fear, of course, but because I have experienced that God is good despite my anguish, I am now able to echo David's words in those times, "Why are you cast down, oh my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God, for I will again praise Him..."
Steve Saint is surely another who has experienced the faithfulness of the Lord through not only hearing what He says, but living it out. As a young boy, he suffered a tremendous emotional agony when his father met death gruesomely at the spears of the Waodani, a tribe of natives in the Ecuadorean jungle. These people were caught in a cycle of fear, hate, and revenge slayings. Steve could have grown up hating these men and longing to avenge his father, but instead he grew up loving them. He went to live with his aunt Rachel, his father's sister, who lived in the midst of the people who had speared her brother a couple of years after the incident.
Young Steve was somewhat adopted by what he calls his "tribal grandfather," a man who encouraged the other Waodani young people to teach him and help him. The young Steve ached for the loss of his father, but even as a boy he obeyed the Lord's words to "love your enemies, do good to those who hate you..." He was merciful, just as his Father was merciful. And because of his obedience, he experienced a joy he never could have known had he merely pursued a vendetta against the Waodani. Had he not obeyed and seen God's goodness worked out in the midst of his own woe, he would have been ill-prepared to remember God's goodness when his own daughter died years later while she was a young woman. Though his faith surely suffered wracking blows by this new storm, it held. It stood true because it was built not on the gifts that God gives, but on the Giver Himself.
It is only trust in the supreme goodness of God that will survive the myriad, crushing torrents of suffering that life can bring. It is only in obedience to what He says--in not merely hearing the Word, but doing what it says--that we can find that faith tried, refined, and made pure enough to stand in the next onslaught. My precious friends, this life will send a deluge of bad news, pain, and suffering. Be sure that you have built on the only solid Rock--our God who is greatly to be praised, whose ways are higher than our ways, who gives joy in the midst of the dark valleys of life. Be sure that it is Him you love, Him you trust, and Him you obey. Only there, grounded and centered in His perfect will, can we find respite in the onslaught. Trust in Him and not in your circumstances. He is worthy and He is worth it all. 
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