Luke : Day 14

Read Luke 6: 37-49

Is there a Bible verse quoted more often than Luke 6:37? People love to say, “Do not judge”, especially to Christians! Jesus was not saying that God is fine with wrong behaviour. That would contradict many other things he said about how seriously God takes sin.

But Jesus certainly wanted his followers to avoid a judgemental attitude towards others. Christians should be gentle, not harsh. Why? Because that is how God is with us. He offers us forgiveness and an escape from the consequences of sin which we deserve. A person who is truly following Jesus knows that God has been kind and merciful to them – and that they have no right to look down on others. When they do speak to others about what God says, it should be from a heart of love, not judgement.

Judgemental behaviour comes from a judgemental heart, as Jesus pointed out with his illustration of the tree and its fruit. Every other wrong behaviour displayed by humanity comes from the human heart*. Someone has said, “The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart”. Jesus wanted his listeners to understand that they couldn’t reform their behaviours without a change of heart – and our hearts are changed by accepting and embracing the love and mercy of God.

Jesus finished with a great illustration. His listeners had a choice – to accept Him and His teaching, or to reject it. We cannot say we are Christians if we ignore Christ’s words (verse 46). Building our lives around Him is like constructing a home on solid rock, which will not be shaken by the stormy waves of life. Ignoring the words of the Son of God is like building our lives on sand. It is attempting to navigate the storms of life without God. More than that, it will mean facing the storm of His judgement at life’s end without a Saviour.

What foundation are you building your life on?

“As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like...”

Luke 6:47