Several years ago I had a mentor teach me what he called the “car rule.” When you’re looking for a good restaurant in a place you don’t know, find the one with a lot of cars. The number of cars parked says far more about a restaurant’s potential than its appearance.
When you are on a journey and you want the best experience possible, it helps to hear from others who know the area what kind of things you can do.
As followers of Jesus, we are on a journey. We seek to know what it means to follow Jesus and so we observe what Jesus did, where He went and what He taught. This has been our goal as we explore the book of Matthew, and as we get towards the end of the Sermon on the Mount, we see some travel tips that can help us along on this journey.
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There are times we need a course correction
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”
Matthew 7:1-6
The most common takeaway we have to this passage is the problem of judgmentalism. When we find ourselves putting ourselves in God’s place to determine a person’s salvation or value, we have a real problem. When we rate other people based on our own criteria, we have a real problem. This is a major course correction we need to make.
However, there’s more to this teaching than simply not judging. There’s a movie called “Arthur the King” about a stray dog that was befriended by an extreme ultra-sports racing team. The dob began to follow them as they raced in a competition through the Dominican Republic. At one point as they run through the jungle at night the dog jumps in front of them and snarls and barks aggressively. The team thought the dog had turned on them, but then one notices the darkness ahead of them on the trail. The dog had been trying to stop them from running over the cliff.
Notice how Jesus didn’t stop with warnings against judgmentalism? After advising people to remove the plank from their own eye, he says “then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Sometimes the course correction comes from someone noticing the speck in our eyes. Sometimes we need to help others notice their speck. Not out of judgment but to help avoid going down the wrong road.
Is that inconsistent with not judging? I think the difference comes in the kind of relationship we build. When we bear one another’s burdens, when we look out for one another, we can help each other along. When we stand distant and point figures, we cross into judgmentalism.
Carry a good map.
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
Matthew 7:7-12
There was a story recently about how an Amazon Prime delivery driver got his van stuck in the Thames River. Apparently his GPS directed him to drive into the river. I’m not totally sure why there wasn’t some point where he didn’t understand the directions he followed weren’t that good.
There are times where it’s pretty clear what God wants us to do. Sometimes His Word leaves no doubt. But often as we relate to one another, we might wonder what the best way to go is.
Sometimes, we can ask and knock and get a clear answer. Other times, we need a good guide that gives us the principles we can follow. Jesus gives us that in His golden rule: “Do to others what you would have them do to you.”
It’s interesting that He says this sums up the law and prophets. Where else does Jesus say something like that? The great commandments: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and sould, and love your neighbor as yourself.
When we let love for others and love for God dictate what we do, we find ourselves on a pretty good path. Making a priority out of the best outcome for God and for others becomes a pretty good road map.
Choose the right road, even when it’s difficult.
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Matthew 7:13-14
One of the scariest roads to drive is the “Million Dollar Highway” in the southern mountains of Colorado. The road is a white knuckler, with sharp curves, steep inclines, and no guard rails. It’s a challenging road to drive, but it is so beautiful that it’s worth it.
Too often we want to make it easy to follow Jesus. Say a prayer, raise your hand, get dunked, that’s all you need to do. Yet there’s a powerful lesson in this sermon from Jesus: Jesus is teaching hard things. He makes it clear that discipleship is hard. Discipleship is challenging.
In these three chapters, Jesus has been like a person marking a path through the forest, putting reflective markers on trees so we can know if we’re going in the right direction. Jeremy Bacon.
Jeremy Bacon, 40 Days of Learning the Ways of Jesus
It’s a hard road, but Jesus marks the way for us. There’s a lot more to following Jesus than a one-time decision. But even when the road is difficult, Jesus makes it so worth the journey
Here’s the thing about following Jesus
Sometimes we over-emphasize self in our definition of the gospel. We make it all about us. But the good news of Jesus is bigger than a plan of salvation, it’s bigger than our personal reward. The gospel is ultimately about the victory of Jesus, won through his life, death, and resurrection. It’s about how He now sits at the right hand of the Father with all power and authority.
And that’s the beautiful thing about following Jesus. It’s more than just about the destination. There’s so much to what this Gospel is all about that the journey is just as incredible as the destination.
Following Jesus is as much about the experience of following as it is about the destination.
We get to be with Him. We get to see Him in action. Following Him allows us to see Him change our lives and the lives of others. We get to see His power and His glory played out in front of us.
That seems like a pretty incredible journey in and of itself.