Luke 6:37-42
“Notice what you notice.” Luke’s Gospel on judgment… Some days I read the passage over and over before something hits me. Not today. Right away I saw three things I wanted to comment on.
First, Luke adds a strange item to the parallel section in Matthew, where he says Give and it shall 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 (v. 38). I’ve always read this verse financially and have seen it quoted financially. After all, it’s LUKE and he spends more time on finances than all the other Gospel writers. But to read those words in a judgment context, it’s a completely different sense!
I chatted yesterday about my own problems with being overly judgmental. But I forgot to mention the other half of that. As God has helped me to become less judgmental, He has also replaced judgment with encouragement. I say this as modestly as I can – I have become a Barnabas! See Acts 4:36-37. An example… On Friday Carol was running Rachel’s shop. A 30-ish young lady came in to see Rachel and engaged us (Carol, mostly) in conversation. At some point I interrupted and told the lady how striking her glasses were on her face. She beamed and said that she had only had those glasses a couple of weeks and was still unsure of how they were on her – even to the point of taking them off regularly in conversation because of that imbedded insecurity. She left the shop really full of joy, a big smile on her face. It didn’t cost me anything to offer that encouragement.
But encouragement is more than just making someone happy. It can often be the beginning of a longer conversation about faith. A word of encouragement opens the door to a more personal conversation. Somehow an encourager is more trustworthy in the eyes of that recipient. What easily becomes a continuing conversation can lead to a simple question, like “Are you part of a church nearby?” People seldom take offense at that question when it has been preceded by a positive compliment. Try it. Ask God to help you become an encourager!
A second item I saw was Jesus’ comment that A disciple is not above his teacher (v. 40). While it is true that our world has seen thousands of great scholars in science, math, philosophy, etc., I daresay that each of these scholars has someone else they can point to as having paved the way for them. We often think of the trio of great Greek philosophers – Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. We can easily see that Aristotle and Plato had someone to look up to, but Socrates certainly did not come by his worldly wisdom by himself. His teacher(s) is (are) never mentioned, but they surely existed!
Finally, a very small item, “hypocrite”. We have seen Jesus use this term to berate the scribes and the Pharisees, but here Jesus uses that term for any of us who are overly judgmental. Small item, but it did catch my eye!
Blessings!