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| After several minutes of silence, say: If you are willing to have God work in your life, to help change the bad fruit into good fruit, to take the planks out of your eyes, then take off your blindfold and place it at the foot of the cross. Close with a prayer. INSIGHTS FROM SCRIPTURE: When we think of the word “judge,” we think of exercising discrimination, but here in Luke it is based on the assumption that one has the capacity to separate good people from bad people. “Condemn” takes that idea a step further—it means to judge that person to be guilty, thus taking on the role of God. We as Christians should point out the good in people like Jesus commands us to do. But too often we prefer to discover the worst in people and not the best, and this self-righteous, judgmental attitude is the very opposite of what Jesus demands of us. Those who judge are guilty of the worst kind of idolatry because that person denies their own limitations in their attempt to play God. When we forgive, we open our lives up grace. The only way to be opened to God’s grace is to first realize “I too am a sinner.” When we realize this, then we understand and know that we stand on the same level as our brother or sister. We are both equally in need of forgiveness. When we understand this we see that it is impossible to be open to God’s grace and closed to our brother or sister at the same time. Continued... |
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