Daily Devotion

 

 

This reads like a disconnected series of separate sayings. Two things are possible. It may be that Luke is connecting together sayings of Jesus which were spoken on different occasions, and so giving us a kind of compendium of rules for life and living. Or, this may be an instance of the Jewish method of preaching. The Jews called preaching Charaz, which means stringing beads. Jewish preaching often gives us the impression of being disconnected.

This passage falls into four sections: (1^st) verses 39-40. Jesus warned that no teacher can lead his scholars beyond the stage he himself has reached. That is a double warning: in our learning, we must seek only the best teacher for only he can lead us on; in our teaching, we must remember that we cannot teach what we do not know. (2^nd) verses 41-42. Here is an example of Jesus' humor. It must have been with a smile that Jesus drew the picture of a man with a plank in his eye trying to remove a speck of dust from someone else's eye. He taught that we have no right to criticize unless we are free from faults. That really means that we have no right to criticize at all because there is so much bad in the best of us and so much good in the worst of us that any of us can find fault with the rest of us. (3^rd) verses 43 & 44 remind us that a person will be judged by his deeds. Teaching and preaching are both "truth through personality."

 

Fine words will never take the place of fine deeds. The only way to prove the superiority of Christianity is to show by our lives that it produces better men and women. (4^th) in this passage, Jesus reminded people that the words of their lips are, in the last analysis, the product of their heart. No person can speak of God with his mouth unless the Holy Spirit is in his heart. Nothing shows the state of a person's heart as clearly as the words he speaks when he is not carefully considering his words. The very words of the answer to a chance question often show where a person's thoughts most naturally turn and where the interests of his heart lie. Our speech always betrays us.

 

Life Application: What do your words reveal about your heart? In Luke 6:45, Jesus tells us, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."

 

Praise/Prayer: Dear Father, I have walked a long way with You. Help me to have a heart full of Your words of praise. I want the people I meet to know that You are my Father, and Lord by the words that come out of my heart. I want them to freely flow out of my mouth. I love You, and I know that You have forgiven me of my sins. That is what I want others to know. Great is Your faithfulness. Amen!