Luke 6:37-49. If you don’t have a Bible nearby, read it here: 

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke6:37-49&version=NLT 

This whole passage is about examining myself – my attitude towards others, the people I choose to follow, the things that are wrong in my life, the product and foundation of my life.  Jesus is definitely not giving us a list of things to consider as we evaluate other people.  Basically, if I ever feel compelled to quote some part of this at someone, I have probably completely missed the point.

The first couple of verses are super practical. If you wish people treated you a certain way, that’s how you should treat people. It’s also basic psychology. People tend to respond to others the way they are treated. Anger breeds anger. Kindness breeds kindness. Criticism and judgement breed criticism and judgement. 

But does it go deeper here? Is Jesus suggesting not just that people will treat you the way you treat them, but that God will also respond to our judgement and generosity? It’s worth considering.  It’s consistent with his demand that we forgive others the way he forgave us.  

But the passage continues, so we should too.  It seems to me that verses 39&40 are about choosing your teachers/influences well. If you follow a blind teacher you are likely to fall, and you can only learn as much as your teacher knows. So pick smart people (or people with other characteristics you would like to develop) from whom to learn.

The speck and the log are famously clear. Don’t try to fix other people until you have looked into your own heart. As we know, usually the things that bug us most in others are the faults we share with them. Does it drive me crazy that someone is ungrateful? When was the last time I was genuinely thankful? Hypocrisy – expecting others to avoid behaviours in which we indulge – really bothers people, and hurts our testimony.

I think I have sometimes thought that the tree and its fruit section was a warning. I thought it was telling us, “Careful around bad people. Even if they are pretending to be good, they will do evil things.” But once again, I think I’ve been missing the point. I think this whole passage might be about MY heart. 

So, really, it’s a tool for self-examination. Do I keep doing the same mean, selfish, sinful thing? There’s a problem with my heart and I need God’s help to fix it. It might also be a gentle warning to me that I can’t harbour sin in my heart. It will come out in my life. I can’t hold onto resentment and unforgiveness toward someone who hurt me 10 years ago, and expect to be ok. I will produce bad fruit. 

It doesn’t matter how much I volunteer at church or sacrifice for my family, if I am unwilling to let God cut some sin out of my life, if I hold onto a relationship that distracts me from God, or refuse to acknowledge that gossip is sin, or nurse a grudge, the roots of my tree are rotten and nothing I produce is going to be healthy and nourishing for anyone. 

Finally, the passage ends with the wise and foolish builders. Yep, can’t read that passage without hearing an old Sunday school song. IYKYK.  But today as I read it I have a bone to pick with the writers of the song. Look at me getting all judgemental eight minutes after reading the “don’t judge” passage! 

But seriously, that song was about construction. Build your house on a firm foundation. Ok, good advice, but shouldn’t we spend a little more of our song explaining what the firm foundation is? Well… the part that’s NOT in the song is where Jesus says, “If you listen to my words and call me “Lord”, but don’t actually DO what your “Lord” says, you are engaging in some sketchy construction that is going to end in insurance claims that will almost certainly be rejected.

That’s kind of the whole point of reading the Bible together isn’t it?  What’s the point in just learning what it says if we don’t let it make us the people we were created to be?

So, I have a question for you.  This chapter was a whole lot, and I tried to keep it moving.  Does anyone want to unpack one or more parts of this a little more before we go on?  Let me know.  The point of this series is to read through a book of the Bible together, but that doesn’t mean we can’t slow it down when it gets dense.  This passage is probably Luke compiling a bunch of topics that Jesus regularly talked about into one sermon.  It can feel like drinking from a fire hose.  If you have any thoughts to share or things you want to unpack a little further, please comment or message me on Facebook or Instagram.