7 POWERFUL GRACES FOR LIVING: SIGHT

One of the most difficult problems we have confronted in the last year has been seeing clearly.  It is easy for us to understand the words of Jesus: “If the blind lead the blind, then will they not fall together into a pit?” (Luke 6:39, JOT) Our national life has become a pit of fear, despair, division, and doubt!  As we confront these things, we feel like we are stumbling through the darkness to find the light of hope.  How will we be able to see a path to wholeness and strength?  In our sermon series 7 Powerful Graces for Living, the topic is Sight.  Seeing clearly is a powerful image for our lives.  What is your vision for your life?  Where will you find strength and hope?   Luke 6:31-41 is part of Jesus’s sermon.  You will recognize the Golden Rule: Do to others as you would have them do to you. (verse 31) What would life be like today if everyone had rigorously followed these words throughout the past year?  These words are framed by our blindness and we fell into a pit of darkness long before 2020.   It is easy for us not to see anything, except what we want to see.  Jesus wants to open our eyes in these verses. Jesus is trying to break through the blindness of our hearts and give us a full and abundant life. As you read these words, we pray that your eyes will be opened to see our living and gracious Savior!  Luke 6:31-41:  ³¹ Do to others as you would have them do to you. ³² “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. ³⁷ “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” ³⁹ He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? ⁴⁰ The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher. ⁴¹ “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?