Luke 6:37-42

     Do not judge others. It’s amazing how often this subject came up during the ministry of Jesus. He lived when the religious elite found it easy to condemn those who did not have the resources or ability to maintain the rituals that were considered so important at the time.
     Jesus says it in strong words – don’t judge and God won’t judge you. Don’t condemn and God won’t. Forgive and God will do the same for you. Give to others and God will give to you. Then he goes on to say that you will receive a full measure, a generous helping, poured into your life, as much as you can possibly hold. The measure we give will be the one God uses for us.
    It is said that the ancient middle east delighted in hyperbole, that is, stating the extremes to make a point. Perhaps this is what Jesus is doing. The religiously self-righteous needed to be shook up. They’d failed in the very love of neighbor that was the central core of their ethical and spiritual teaching.
      At the same time, the legalists could turn his words into a quid pro quo equation. Give and you will receive, etc. In fact, that’s exactly what’s sometimes happened. Read some inspirational material on tithing and you will often find stories of someone who asserts how they started giving more to the church, then more and every time they gave more, their business started doing better or their income otherwise went up. While we would not doubt their sincerity, the stories could turn giving into a self-centered attempt to receive.
     We give because that’s what God calls us to do. We give in response to God’s love and the sacrifice of Jesus. We give when we are in accord with the image of God in which we are made. We give because causes are important to us and we want to come down squarely on the right side of life.
     We forgive also for the same types of reasons. We refrain from judging (or should!) because we have no business condemning others.
     A more positive understanding of the words of Jesus might come from the old illustration concerning the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is called dead because it contains too much salt to be viable. Water flows into it, but because nothing flows out, the sea does not support life.
     Or perhaps there’s the old scientific truth – two things can’t be in the same place at the same time. How can God’s forgiveness make a meaningful difference in our lives if we’re too busy patting ourselves on the back and judging other people? If we are selfish and self-centered, God’s gifts are neither recognized nor valued. An ungenerous heart finds it difficult to understand generosity when received.
      Jesus went on to tell a parable or analogy of the fact that a blind person cannot lead someone else who’s blind. That would be ridiculous and everyone will end in a ditch. A student isn’t greater than the teacher, but the student can hope to be like the teacher upon completing the course.
     Then Jesus went on to another parable/imagery asking why we would persist in fussing about the speck in a neighbor’s eye while ignoring the log or plank sticking out of our own. The wonderful humor of this image is often missed entirely, but may well have provoked a good chuckle to those who first heard it.
     Earlier, Luke (6:36) had recorded the words of Jesus calling upon being to be merciful in the same way God is merciful. To love enemies, because God is also good to the wicked and ungrateful.
     When Jesus spoke, it wasn’t as if he was speaking to people in whom he saw no hope and no promise. Rather, he spoke to people in the understanding that, though they had strayed, they had great potential, because they were the children of God and could aspire to the standards of God.

What is the hardest part about forgiveness?
How difficult is it to refrain from judging others?
Does bringing a judgmental attitude to life really make anyone feel better?
How do we let go of self-righteousness and grow into forgiveness?