Dropping Stones; Removing Planks

Matthew 7:3

New International Version (NIV)

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

Today, in church, I was lucky enough to hear a sermon on my favorite passage of the new testament. Most of you have probably read John 8:3-11, but for those of you who haven't, here it is:

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”  They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.  Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said.“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

 I don't know if any of you have noticed, but Christianity has a pretty bad rap for carrying around metaphorical stones. When we see people doing something wrong, we want to call them out on it. We're eager to "throw stones" at them, because that takes the focus off of us and the things that we do wrong. Unfortunately, this is a habit that the Bible tells us to avoid at all costs. We are called over and over again to "drop our stones" or "remove the plank in our own eye" before we can even see the speck of sawdust in our neighbors' eyes.

The other day, I went to this big Christian concert called Winter Jam. During the concert, there was a speaker who talked about how we need to "reset" and "recharge." I'll explain what he means by recharging in another entry, but first, we have to reset. We have to drop our stones and remove our planks. Before we can get close to God, we need to take a moment to see what we're doing wrong in our own lives, and simply let God take that burden away. Start from a clean slate. Being a Christian doesn't mean that you're an expert at telling everyone else which sins they need to stop. Instead, work on your own faith journey; focus on your own weaknesses and how God can turn those into strengths.

When we initially drop our stones, we may feel a little vulnerable. We're unarmed. We're admitting that we don't have room to judge anyone, because we are all just as guilty of one sin or another. But it's a step forward on our faith journey. God can help us remove that uncomfortable plank in our eyes, but we first have to stop condemning others for the specks in theirs.

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You are Beautiful

Psalm 139:14

New International Version (NIV)

^{14 "}I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well."

 

Maybe it's because I'm a lady who has had my fair share of "I feel ugly" days in my life, but I think that just about everyone can relate this at one point or another:

 

 

 

In fact, I don't even think you need to have hair to have a "bad hair day." Sometimes, even if not often, I think that people can just feel insecure. When we take a good, hard look at our self-worth, we don't always see how we could ever measure up. But maybe, just maybe, this is simply because we sometimes forget the standard by which we should measure said worth. On my way home from class today, I heard the song "Beautiful" by MercyMe play on the radio. It went like this:

 

"The days will come when you don't have the strength
When all you hear is you're not worth anything
Wondering if you ever could be loved
And if they truly saw your heart they'd see too much

[chorus:]

You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are made so much more than all of this
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are treasured, you are sacred, you are His
You're beautiful

And praying that you have the heart to find
Cause you are more than what is hurting you tonight
For all the lies you've held inside so long
And they are nothing in the shadow of the cross

[chorus]

Before you ever took a breath
Long before the world began
Of all the wonders He possessed
There was one more precious
Of all the earth and skies above
You're the one He madly loves
Enough to death

You're beautiful
You're beautiful
In His eyes."

 

Although I have heard this song a million times, this was the first time it really stuck with me. God doesn't see our "bad hair days." Even when we are feeling small, ugly, or insignificant, God looks at us and thinks, "These are my children. They are worth my life, and I created them to be beautiful." Over and over again, the Bible reminds us that God did not create us to feel insecure. He calls us "fearfully and wonderfully made," refers to us as his "masterpiece" (Ephesians 2:10), and tells us not to worry about our bodies or what we wear on them (Matthew 6:25). We are sons and daughters of the King of Kings! There is no need to feel like we are anything less than that!

 

No, we're not always perfect, and God knows that. But God sees past our outer appearance and sees us for who we are. And even when that's not perfect, He still thinks that we are to die for. Romans 5:8 states, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." God loves us so much. The most beautiful and majestic Being in all of history (and beyond) thinks that we. are. beautiful.

 

SO hey, the next time you have a "bad hair day," don't sweat it. You are God's masterpiece; you are beautiful; you are loved. Once we fully understand and embrace that, our insecurities become trivial, and we are able to look past them. When we see how beautiful the creation is, we can begin to better comprehend how beautiful the creator is, and worship Him for His true wonder.

 

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