‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of stumbling-blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling-block comes! ‘If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into the hell of fire. (Matthew 18:6-9, NRSV)
Have you ever tripped over something?
When I trip over something I usually stop and look back at where I tripped to see what I tripped over. Sometimes I can see what made me trip, but sometimes I can’t…
Today’s text is one of the texts that haunts me. We are not to be a stumbling block for others, or place before our brothers and sisters stumbling blocks, yet being ourselves, we can cause others to question and wonder about things. I wonder if I have ever caused someone to stumble and I am sure the answer is yes.
I also know that my eye has caused me to sin, and my hand, and my feet… Yet I still have both eyes, hands and feet…
We are a stumbling block for some to come to God, yet others make there way to a relationship through us. So how do we take this verse then. Much like yesterday’s verse, we are not able to make it on our own. Only through Jesus do we find a way to stand before the throne, and only through Jesus do we find a way to not make it necessary to tie a millstone around our necks and throw ourselves into the sea…
aSacredRebel 