A Dirty Face

“It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this I-know-better-than-you mentality again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your own part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.”  Luke 6:41-42 (The Message)

Say what you will about my use of The Message for this passage of Scripture but this writing might be just as punch-in-the-face as Eugene Peterson’s interpretation of what Jesus said in Luke’s Gospel account. But to clear the air on my feeling about using The Message when we speak of Kingdom things is this, if you have already been steeped in God’s Word (ex. KJV, NKJV, NASB or ESV translations) then I feel you are in the position to decode the Eugene Peterson writing for folks. If you are a milk drinker still then do NOT rest the entirety of your theology on what you read in The Message…it will be tainted. (1Peter 2:2) So “wipe that ugly sneer off your face” and lets dig into something that has always been an issue with Secularland and Christendom alike…Fault-Finding!

We all do it in one way or another. Either it be out in the wide open for all to see or in the deep caverns of our hearts, we find fault with one another. I hear it every day everywhere I go…it is as if we all have been given a red pen (school teachers know where I am going here) and put an “X” on what we think to be wrong in the world around us. In Secularland we kinda expect that. Theirs is a world that constantly changes the rules to accommodate the game, changes the theory to accommodate the times and changes the standards to accommodate the bad behavior. Secularland runs on its own strength because The Creator has given them over to a reprobate mind (Romans 1:18-32).

They can’t it in their heads that the creation CANNOT create or recreate its creator. So basically, if you don’t know where you come from and can’t accept ELOHIM as The Creator, you’re gonna get what ya get!! But in Christendom, fault-finding has become somewhat of an art form. We tend to hide it under the banner of “good counsel” and “encouragement” but it usually starts with “You know I can’t help to notice this about you…” It’s not that the behavior isn’t there in a person but there are times when those Holy Spirit wings we think we have start to flappin’ and we can’t help ourselves.

If we looked at fault-finding like the apostle Paul’s does in 1Timothy, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” we might just see a bit more clearly on how fault-finding works. If we maintain our position as “but for the grace of God there go I” we might just reach some understanding. Some guy I know who works at America’s Keswick who won’t remain nameless, Jim Kennedy, said it is like we have the telescope backwards. It’s like the speck in someone else’s eye is the size of a 2×4 and our 2×4 looks like a speck. If we all just realize that we have that speck then what’s the need for the telescope?

Today I’m telling you that my face is just as dirty as yours…deal with it! I’ll share my washcloth with you, the soap is still Jesus Christ and if you’re bothered by that, go vertical with it…deal with that too!! I’ve been called to work out my salvation with fear and trembling nowhere does it saying to do that for others but if you need me to help you along then I can to a point. It’s Jesus that work’s in you and through so all can see more clearly on who does washing. If Jesus washing the feet of His disciples has left you thinking that it’s all humility you’re right but remember this…it is Jesus doing the washing. Scripture is clear on this; apart from Him you can do NOTHING!! So wash your own face first…I’ll pass the soap!! Amen? Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a weekly Freedom Fighter blogger

Daily Bible Reading: Hebrews 1-6

Think About This: “Jesus Christ does not want to be our helper; He wants to be our life. He does not want us to work for Him. He wants us to let Him do the work through us, using us as we use a pencil to write with—better still, using us as one of the fingers of His hand.”—Charles Trumbull

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: As pressure and stress bear down on me,
I find joy in your commands. Psalm 119:143