January 24, 2025 - God Sees the Angel in the Marble
Matthew 7:1-5
Sermon: 1705 When Yardsticks Become Boomerangs
Pray Over This
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Matthew 7:1-5
Ponder This
Many times, we’re quick to judge and condemn those God wants to save. We have to be careful with condemning words and judgmental attitudes because the yardstick we use is going to become a boomerang that comes right back to us. Our Lord is full of compassion where we are often judgmental. God does not rejoice in judgment. But we often look at other people and quickly deem them unworthy.
Michelangelo, the sculptor in Florence, was walking past the marble quarry, and he saw an ugly and misshapen piece of marble. The workers had discarded it. Michelangelo looked at it a while and he said, “I want that piece of marble.” They responded, “Sir, it’s no good.” He said, “There’s an angel in that piece of marble; I can see him, and I'm going to set him free.” And he used it to make the sculpture of a beautiful angel. Now, we often see people as unworthy and fit to be discarded, but God doesn’t love us for what we are. He loves us for what we can be in Him. God doesn’t change us so He can love us. He loves us, so He changes us.
- Who do you have a hard time loving as Christ did?
- How can you change your focus to see people as God does? How might that change the way you live?
Practice This
Pray and ask God to help you view others the way He does.
For more from Love Worth Finding and Pastor Adrian Rogers, please visit www.lwf.org.
You can also listen to Adrian Rogers at OnePlace.com.
