Help us to see clearly

“You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbour’s eye.” (Luke 6: 42) God loves us regardless of the log, this much I know. Yet, what is Jesus really trying to tell us here? I believe he is talking to us about how to live with our neighbors. Often when we are struggling with someone, we feel that if they would just act differently things would be much better. However, Jesus is telling us the best way to address it is to look within and see if there is something we need to change in ourselves. If there is something impeding our vision, such as a log, it can be very difficult to “see” what is really going on. It may seem that the problem is with the other when really, the problem is with us.

It is likely that at some point in our lives we will all end up with something in our eye that distorts how we see things. We all carry with us wounds or scars that are often beyond our control that manifest themselves in interesting ways. As we mature, if we are willing to do some real work on ourselves, we may notice the things that cloud our vision. If we can see things more clearly by changing something in ourselves, it is possible we will find out that our neighbor never had a speck in their eye to begin with.

We need to remember that when we are struggling to see things as God wants us to, we are missing out on the beauty around us, and this includes the beauty of our relationships. It can also mean we don’t see what God wants for us personally. When we are too busy worrying about what our neighbor is doing, we are not paying attention to how God is calling us to serve.

Often, it is by addressing the log in our eye that we grow, and we can then see things the way God wants us to.

By Serena Shaw
Vocation Team – Oblate Associate
780-231-3066
seshaw@shaw.ca