Speaking of specks....



...have you ever wondered at the size of a speck?
...ever thought about the part of the body a speck is in?
...would you allow someone with long nails to remove it? 
...would you let someone with a big, open mouth and bad breath get close enough to remove it?
...would you allow someone who you hardly know get close enough to remove yours? 


Metaphorically speaking, if I had a speck in my eye (and trust me, there's a floater in there all the time) I would want someone I know very well and trust even better to remove it.  Someone without claws.  Someone who I like and love enough that they can get right up close in my face, bending over me, mere inches away, to remove the speck, and who wouldn't use their open big mouth and bad gossipy breath to talk about it with others afterwards.  Someone I'm geniunely close with.  You can't remove a speck from a safe distance.  You have to get really, really close in, to see it, then you have to maybe lift the lid a bit, and maybe even touch the eyeball.  I wouldn't want just anybody doing that!

I think that's the point.  In Christ's teaching about hypocrisy and judging (Matt. 7:1-5), He does not say never remove specks.  He says remove your log first, and then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck....in your brother's eye.  I believe He is suggesting an intimate relationship here...friends so close they're like brothers and sisters; or brothers and sisters so close, they've earned the passport of friends.   Only people in loving relationship - whether they be friends, mentors, sisters, brothers, parents et al - have the passport (right of entry) into another's life to the point that they can remove a speck safely, lovingly and with care.

Just something to think about.



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