Giving Up A Limb or Eye In Order Not to Fall

UV 3531/10000            Giving Up A Limb or an Eye in Order Not to Fall

 

If your eye causes you to stumble and sin, pluck it out and throw it away from you ( that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation); it is better for you to enter life with only one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fiery hell.

 

Matthew 18 v 9

 

 

                         Jesus was teaching His disciples when He said that “Stumbling blocks will come..”      But if the stumbling blocks come due to our own limbs or eyes or any other cause in our lives, we need to be ruthless in plucking out the cause of sin and temptation in our lives.  If we lose a limb or an eye, we are more liable to fall physically but the Word is saying that a spiritual fall is far more disastrous and harmful for eternity than a mere physical fall.  We should value our  spiritual wholeness, completeness in Christ, our righteousness in Him above any of our organs, even our limbs or eyes.  If we do so, we would be able to avoid the stumbling blocks that lust or lack of self control or pride bring into our lives. 

 

                          The Lord has called us, who are undeserving of being invited to the banquet feast of the Lamb’ s marriage or joining with His body of believers.  We should at least be careful how we present ourselves before Him, how appropriately dressed we are before Him.  We cannot go before a great King in rags.   The appropriate clothing the Lord exhorts us to wear are acts of righteousness and a character of integrity.  We need to find a way to turn our stumbling blocks into building blocks, our weaknesses into strengths.  The Holy Spirit is always waiting and ready to equip, build or edify and empower us in the image of Christ.

                         Of course, Jesus, compassionate and gentle as He is, would not literally ask us to severe our own limbs or gouge out our own eyes in order to avoid sin and temptation.  But it is  a figure of speech He used to drive home the importance of believers living a testimonial lives or lives that are enough evidence for Christ having saved us.    Our reverence for God and measuring our lives against His image and the plumb line of His word should be so deep, so great that we would not even inadvertently trespass against His holiness or take His goodness for granted or casually.  A man would think a million times if he knew for sure he would lose a limb or an eye for doing a particular thing. Likewise, we should be thoughtful and careful how we lead our lives.  How we lead our lives Is the essence of our leadership of others.