Friday, September 7, 2007
Plucking out an Eye
So I was reading in Matthew today the passage when Jesus says that if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. And of course my first thought was the typical thought of: "well, Jesus was just exaggerating for effect. Jesus didn't really want anyone to pluck out their eye." Which is accurate. But then I had a second thought: why did Jesus use such shocking graphic language? What was the point? I thought of a couple of things. First: Jesus wanted to point out that removing the root cause of sin from our lives requires radical and extreme measures. Second: Jesus wanted us to understand that it would be painful. Removing the root cause of sin from our lives can often seem like self-mutilation. Ouch!
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3 comments:
Can you guess who this anonymous is? I'm sure there is some way to avoid being anonymous, but I don't want to hassle with it! So I'll choose an identity.
Jesus says a lot of things that are hard to understand. Just last night I read His words: "...if you have faith andn do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
If Jesus said it, it contains truth, but the meaning or interpretation of that truth is open to question.
Mom?
I don't think it's the meaning of the truth that's open to interpretation, necessarily. I think it's our understanding of it. And I also think that Truth is larger and beyond our human understanding.
I agree. Truth is truth. Interpretation occurs when we try to understand it. Since full and complete truth is probably beyond our understanding, I find it comforting to know that the Holy Spirit is there to guide us. I may not ever understand all truth, but I believe I am taught the facet of truth that I need at any given time.
Mom who? I am only a seeker.
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