(L, P)br...
Illustration
(L, P)
"... if your hand causes you to sin ... if your foot causes you to sin ... if your eye causes you to sin ..."
These are strong words from the lips of our Savior. If they were to be taken literally, all of us would enter the gates of heaven as multiple amputees! What Jesus is referring to, naturally, is the terrible and constant tension we all face between walking in the flesh and living in the Spirit. Perhaps a word of levity is in order as a thought starter or an introduction.
Our human situation can oftentimes make us feel like the skinny lad, weighing in at 135 pounds, who turned out for the first practice of his high school football team. His "gung-ho" enthusiasm quickly diminished when he explained what he felt at that first practice: "The coach handed me the football and said, 'Let's see what you can do, sonny.' I tucked the ball under my arm and began to run down the field. One big bruiser grabbed my left leg. A second bruiser grabbed my right leg. I knew I was in terrible trouble when I heard the first big bruiser say to the second big bruiser 'MAKE A WISH!' "
-- Schroeder
"... if your hand causes you to sin ... if your foot causes you to sin ... if your eye causes you to sin ..."
These are strong words from the lips of our Savior. If they were to be taken literally, all of us would enter the gates of heaven as multiple amputees! What Jesus is referring to, naturally, is the terrible and constant tension we all face between walking in the flesh and living in the Spirit. Perhaps a word of levity is in order as a thought starter or an introduction.
Our human situation can oftentimes make us feel like the skinny lad, weighing in at 135 pounds, who turned out for the first practice of his high school football team. His "gung-ho" enthusiasm quickly diminished when he explained what he felt at that first practice: "The coach handed me the football and said, 'Let's see what you can do, sonny.' I tucked the ball under my arm and began to run down the field. One big bruiser grabbed my left leg. A second bruiser grabbed my right leg. I knew I was in terrible trouble when I heard the first big bruiser say to the second big bruiser 'MAKE A WISH!' "
-- Schroeder
