Ouch! (I resemble those remarks.)

The Word for today:
Proverbs 28, 29

"Proverbs" hurts. It makes me wince when I realize that the face in that mirror is me.

Proverbs is the "James" of the Old Testament. The book of James casts a pitiless eye at our hypocrisies, foibles, and indiscretions. It forces us to look in the mirror, and it's not a pretty sight. James hurts.

The Sermon on the Mount (1) hurts the worst of all. That's where the gentle Jesus pins us to the wall, still wriggling.

The Bible hurts. That's the bad news. But the good news is that if it hurts, you're reading it right. If Proverbs, James, and Jesus make you wince, you get a C+ for reading comprehension. If they make you regret and even grieve your sin, then you get a B+. And if they cause you to repent, to turn from self to God, then you get an A+.

***

I love bumper stickers. They make the wait at a red light seem shorter. You don't see nearly as many as we used to, but lately I've seen this one a lot:

The snooty assumption, of course, is that the people in that car are the solution, whereas they're not quite sure about those in your car.

What the Bible teaches is this:

That's the truth. But this truth trumps it:

***

If you're not part of the problem, then you will find Jesus to be poor indeed. He has nothing for you.

But if you see yourself (Ouch!) as part of the problem, then you are just the person God is looking for:
"I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Luke 5:32)

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(1) Matthew chapters 5-7