Jesus said, "If your
right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away... And if your
right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for
you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go to hell". Matthew 5:29-30
A friendly warning: please don't read any further if you are about to have your dinner...
There was a news story some years ago about a mountaineer who got his arm jammed in a crack in the rock. However hard he tried he just couldn't get it free. Having pretty well exhausted himself with the effort, he faced up to the fact that he was going to die of hunger and cold. But then he had another idea: what if he took his knife and cut his arm off? That would free him all right! Not very pleasant, of course - but he was going to die anyway so, well, why not give it a try? Which is exactly what he did. And he lived to tell the tale.
There are times in life when we have to make a major and possibly a painful sacrifice in order to bring about a greater good. And that is what Jesus is talking about in this passage regarding our spiritual life: pluck out your eye! chop off your hand! Of course, his words aren't to be taken in a strictly literal sense most of the time, but the point he is making is very clear: if you are keen to live a holy life, then you must be prepared to take yourself seriously in hand.
This is the big trouble with bad habits: when we first become aware of them, we are determined to root them out of our lives; but as time goes by they tend to grow on us. We get used to them. We forget they are bad at all. They gradually become, well, normal. Where at first we reacted with shame and disgust, now we just shrug our shoulders.
As I am typing this there is an ugly brown stain in the ceiling paper above my head. Some time ago we had a slight leak which, while it caused no serious damage, did manage to get through. It was in fact fixed quite quickly, and I made up my mind that in a week or two I would get some paint and touch up the blotch. Well, that was probably about a year ago now... That stain somehow seems to have become acceptable.
Is there something in your life, or mine, which needs rooting out? A bad habit? A wrong attitude? A prejudice? A secret sin? It may seem quite a small thing. It may be something that you have got thoroughly used to. But, if you stop and think about it, you know very well that it is marring your life and damaging your relationship with our holy God. Well, perhaps it's time for what I can only call an act of spiritual surgery - a spiritual amputation perhaps.
The Christian life is a wonderful life - indeed, it is true and authentic life. But it isn't easy. Jesus never said it would be. It's not a hobby or a pastime, it isn't just a bit of icing on the cake of life. No, it's a deeply serious business, and one which has eternal consequences. So why not read again Jesus' solemn words and ask the question: What is this saying to me? What is God saying to me?
A friendly warning: please don't read any further if you are about to have your dinner...
There was a news story some years ago about a mountaineer who got his arm jammed in a crack in the rock. However hard he tried he just couldn't get it free. Having pretty well exhausted himself with the effort, he faced up to the fact that he was going to die of hunger and cold. But then he had another idea: what if he took his knife and cut his arm off? That would free him all right! Not very pleasant, of course - but he was going to die anyway so, well, why not give it a try? Which is exactly what he did. And he lived to tell the tale.
There are times in life when we have to make a major and possibly a painful sacrifice in order to bring about a greater good. And that is what Jesus is talking about in this passage regarding our spiritual life: pluck out your eye! chop off your hand! Of course, his words aren't to be taken in a strictly literal sense most of the time, but the point he is making is very clear: if you are keen to live a holy life, then you must be prepared to take yourself seriously in hand.
This is the big trouble with bad habits: when we first become aware of them, we are determined to root them out of our lives; but as time goes by they tend to grow on us. We get used to them. We forget they are bad at all. They gradually become, well, normal. Where at first we reacted with shame and disgust, now we just shrug our shoulders.
As I am typing this there is an ugly brown stain in the ceiling paper above my head. Some time ago we had a slight leak which, while it caused no serious damage, did manage to get through. It was in fact fixed quite quickly, and I made up my mind that in a week or two I would get some paint and touch up the blotch. Well, that was probably about a year ago now... That stain somehow seems to have become acceptable.
Is there something in your life, or mine, which needs rooting out? A bad habit? A wrong attitude? A prejudice? A secret sin? It may seem quite a small thing. It may be something that you have got thoroughly used to. But, if you stop and think about it, you know very well that it is marring your life and damaging your relationship with our holy God. Well, perhaps it's time for what I can only call an act of spiritual surgery - a spiritual amputation perhaps.
The Christian life is a wonderful life - indeed, it is true and authentic life. But it isn't easy. Jesus never said it would be. It's not a hobby or a pastime, it isn't just a bit of icing on the cake of life. No, it's a deeply serious business, and one which has eternal consequences. So why not read again Jesus' solemn words and ask the question: What is this saying to me? What is God saying to me?
Lord Jesus, you didn't sacrifice just a part of
yourself when you died on the cross, but you gave your very self for me. Please
show me, through the Holy Spirit, anything that needs putting right in my life,
and give me the determination and commitment to do whatever needs to be done,
however hard it may be. Amen.
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