Luke 10:38-42 Logs Impair Judgment
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: August 29/30, 2018 Luke 10:38-42
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
“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.
(Understanding the Text) This judge-not command is given at the end of the parable of the Samaritan. Was it a commentary about Jews feeling self-righteous over the Samaritans when the Jews themselves were unclean and had obscured the knowledge of a loving Father? The measure that we use to judge others will be used on us.
(Revelation of God / Understanding the Text) Jesus judges us with love. He is our teacher, and we are to follow His example. Jesus gives us a promise that when we are fully trained we will be like our teacher. We cannot see clearly to judge when our own faults blind us. Many times people judge others for the same faults that they themselves have. They notice their own weaknesses in others but not in themselves. Guzik’s commentary gives the example of David to illustrate this idea. “A good example of this kind of hypocrisy was David’s reaction to Nathan’s story about a man who unjustly stole and killed another man’s lamb. David quickly condemned the man, but was blind to his own sin, which was far greater.” Most of us use one standard for others’ behavior while applying a more lenient standard to ourselves. This passage says that all people must have the same standard. The standard is the one that we ourselves use for others.
Jesus cautioned us that we are not above Him, the Teacher, but that through His training we will become like Him. While we are still disciples, we are not apostles. We can only be as useful as we allow God to make us. As long as we cling to our selves, we will remain blind to our own faults. When we focus on Jesus, our eyes are opened to what we should be like and how far we are from that ideal. This would seem to be discouraging. Better not to see than to see horrors; however, we are disciples of Jesus. He is training us, and He promises us that when He fully trains us, we will be like He is, full of purity and charity.
(Understanding the Text) In the meantime, we are not qualified to judge others. Our judgments will result in both our downfall and theirs. Our own faults will interfere with any good that might have come from pointing out others’ errors. The bigger our blind spots, the more we focus on other people’s specks rather than looking in the mirror that Jesus holds up. Guzik’s commentary says “Most of our judgment in regard to others is wrong, not because we are judging according to a standard, but because we are being hypocritical in the application of that standard. We ignore it in our own lives.”
(Revelation of God) We have been redeemed by the great price of Jesus’ humiliation and death. Jesus did not hold on to self but served us and our best interests instead. Thus, we should follow our Master’s example and serve others’ interests above our own. This flies in the face of many people’s advice to protect yourself and take care of yourself first; don’t let others take too much. With Jesus, it is about trusting Him to take care of us and not trying to take care of ourselves. It is about loving others and wanting the best for them, not about needing them so much that we let them use us for their own selfish ways. The best guarantee of not being used by others is to see them through Jesus’ eyes rather than through our own blindness.
(Understanding the Text) Guzik’s commentary applies the concept of being blind to not just us trying to lead, but also to the leaders we choose for ourselves. “We shouldn’t look to other blind men to lead us. We can go no further than they themselves have. Instead, we should make Jesus our leader, our teacher, who sees and knows all things.” We must go to Jesus Himself for guidance rather than blindly following a human being. Jesus is the teacher that we want to become like rather than imitating another blind human being.
Paul speaks of this concept that Jesus taught in Romans. “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality” (Romans 2:1-11). Paul points out that in judging others we are maintaining a hard and impenitent heart. It is for this reason that we are under judgment from God when we judge others. We must allow God to soften our hearts and we must turn away from the sins that we have allowed ourselves at the same time as we have judged others for their sins.
(Application / Prayer) Before I can be a useful leader, I must be a disciple to my Teacher. I must let Him open my eyes to my own faults and let Him train me in His ways. I must be Jesus’ humble follower before I can lead other people. I pray that You will not only open my eyes to my faults but also to Your love for me in spite of my faults. Soften my heart so that You can train me. Don’t let me harden my heart again.