Luke 6:37-39–“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;  38  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.”

If you think about a time where you “came down” too hard on someone, and then needed to ask for their forgiveness in doing so.  You were displaying the principle of this passage concerning “seeing and judging” ourselves and others rightly. Dealing with others mercifully, as we would desire…

This is why Jesus reprimanded the Pharisees.  Because instead of listening intently to Christ the Living Word, to examine themselves, they looked to be meticulous and scrutinize others unmercifully.  When we walk with God through His Word, we learn that we should “be merciful as your heavenly father is merciful”(vs 36).

Whenever our heart looks to condemn others without mercy, the Lord promises to measure that same amount of condemnation our way!  Knowing that none of us wants that kind of treatment, why do we then find ourselves doing it?  Much like the Pharisees, our eyes are blinded by our own sin of judgement without mercy (vs.41). In other words we are not walking rightly with God, if at all…

The dangerous thing about the Pharisees was that they were leaders of the religious community.  But because they were blinded by their own self-righteousness, they could not influence others beyond a “pit”.  Much like us, if we are so blinded by our ways, instead having “our eyes enlightened” by God and His Word. We will never be able to influence anyone, any further than the pit we are in…

In His Love, Ld