"let him who is without sin throw the first stone"

"let him who is without sin throw the first stone" 

words that cut like a knife. I'm the first to drop the stone. it is easy to identify the flaws and see the faults of others. it is so easy to point the finger of judgement and approve their condemnation, but what about me? Is it not only by the grace of God that I stand?

Jesus says before we can remove the speck of sawdust in our brother or sister's eye, we must remove the plank of wood in our own. (Matthew 7:35) He doesn't say ignore the speck in their eye, but don't be a hypocrite, deal with your own first. That plank may well be your fault finding judgmental attitude towards others. There's a huge difference between wanting to help someone deal with a problem (or sin) and wanting to judge them. 

I feel the Lord impressing on my heart the urge to seek out the gold in others, draw out the love, encourage the goodness, kindness and Christ like qualities. There may be a multitude of sins in the way but love does cover a multitude of sin and my hope is that in the light of his glorious love, those things will grow uninterestingly dim, wither away and fall from the tree. 

anyway, just a thought I'm having ...