My husband had lasik surgery recently. He could see more clearly immediately after the procedure, but even if he had been the world’s best lasik surgeon, I’m quite sure that no one would have let him perform surgery on someone else right then. He was not allowed to drive, and he was instructed to honor a regimen of eye drops and medication.
His eyes needed time to heal.
I can only imagine that if I had a plank taken out of my eye, though I would be able to see better immediately, I would still need time to heal before my sight would be fully restored and someone would trust me enough to remove a speck from their eye.
Unfortunately for me, I know from experience that every time I see a “speck in someone else’s eye” – a fault in another, which usually seems more like a plank rather than a speck… there is always a fault in myself, as well. “All the time there is a plank in (my) own eye.”
It hurts my pride. And it hurts the identity I was trying to build. And before jumping into fixing a speck for someone else, God has been teaching me to take a little bit more time. He’s been teaching me to let my own eye heal, to just spend time with Him and recover entirely, so then I can, ever so delicately, gently and patiently, help remove a speck for someone else.
If they want me to. Because I’ll never be able to get a speck out of someone’s eye if they aren’t willing to let me.
And I’m learning that that’s okay. I’m actually not the only option for that person. They aren’t dependent on me, and God isn’t either.
However he chooses, and whatever the season, God is always at work. He cares so much more about our sight and recovery than we could even imagine. He is the one who heals the blind and gives eyes to see, all when the time is right. He has everything under his control. Whether we are the ones healing or the ones being used to give aid, he is with us. And he is sufficient.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. – Deuteronomy 6:5
But now, this is what the Lord says – he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” – Isaiah 43:1
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. – Isaiah 55:2
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Read: Matthew 7:1-5
Consider: How does this passage relate to Jesus? How does he fulfil the role of the Judge and the judged? Spend some time in prayer, asking God what he wants you to learn from His Word.
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Soaking in the Son 