The way of the world is the easier way.  The way of God is the harder way. 

A few days ago I went into the kitchen at our house and tried to open a new bag of cereal ~ a plastic pouch where you tear off the top then reseal it…I was fumbling around determined to succeed! Sally came into the kitchen, saw me struggling to get it just right, picked up the scissors ~ YES, I knew they were there on the counter beside me!, and said, “try these.”  She deflated my challenge to tear it off.  I took the scissors, cut a straight line in 2 seconds, the sealing part worked, I expressed disappointment at not meeting my self imposed challenge, and Sally says, “Sorry I don’t think like a man.” Obviously Sally’s brain works better than mine! The Lord wants us to renew our mind…. A new way of thinking….

In Rom. 12:1 the word “Therefore” is a hinge… based on everything up to this point, Rom. 1-11, this is how you respond: make a whole hearted commitment to the Lord.  Take the hard way: renew our minds, do the will of God.  The wholeness of the Christian life is not only what we believe, but also how we live, the choices we make, our attitudes towards others, peace between brothers and sisters, acceptance of one another.  

Marilyn Monroe said, “My work is the only ground I've ever had to stand on. I seem to have a whole superstructure with no foundation but I'm working on the foundation.”

Dig deep.  Build the house on solid foundation.  Luke 6 is NOT about becoming a Christian.  It is about growing in the knowledge and practice of being a Christian.  Jesus is the coach instructing the players in how to make it on his team.  Jesus wants deep rooted people.  / rock solid people.  The reason Jesus needs deep rooted rock solid strong foundation people is because there will always be storms.

Many people want Christianity to be something like winning the lottery: instant riches.  The dreams.  The improvements.  The fun.  Why do most instant millionaires lose the money?  No roots, no plans, no preparation. The person who slowly saves money, who plans and prepares will be the one that will find a measure of stability with that same amount of money.  Accepting Christ into your life is the beginning of a lifetime commitment, shaping, learning, digging, living so that as you mature in Christ, the receding flood-waters will find the house still standing because the foundation is the rock of Christ.  Jesus gives two pictures in today’s scriptures comparing what it is like to be a Christian: A fruit producing tree and a house.  A fruit tree takes a long time to mature ~ I think that is part of the point Jesus is making.  A well built house is planned out and is a huge commitment.  I think the purposeful nature is part of the point Jesus is making.  

This scripture has to be near the top of the most misapplied scripture in the Bible.  “Do not judge. Do not judge.  Do not judge” is a rallying cry for “you have no right to have an opinion of what I do, you cannot disagree with me because I know what is right for me and you have no right to judge me.”  In Luke 6 Coach Jesus is huddling with his disciples and explaining the game plan: “in order to follow me, here is what is most important...  The first thing ~ embrace the blessings nobody wants ~ you can be a full Christian even in poverty, hunger, tears, persecution (Blessed are the poor… etc.).” Then Coach Jesus says, “Love your enemies…” those who hurt you, bless them, bless the people who are close enough to you to slap you on the face and love them anyway.”   What a strange game plan ~ the goal is not to win and we are told to want the best for the opponent… In today’s scripture Jesus continues with the attitude toward the opponent ~ “Do not judge” and he turns the focus inward: “first get the log out of your own eye”