Jesus teaches us to get rid of stumbling blocks in our own lives. The last set of verses talked about not putting stumbling blocks in the way of others. Now Jesus makes us responsible for removing stumbling blocks from our own lives.
Matthew 18:8-9 8 "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. 9 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.
This is one time when I don't think Jesus is speaking literally - please don't amputate your body parts! But he is speaking spiritually. Whatever is keeping us from following Jesus, we need to get rid of it. A lot of misguided people have taken these verses to mean that "whom"ever is keeping you from following Jesus, get rid of them. And they have used these verses to excommunicate people from their fellowship or even divorce a spouse that wasn't pleasing them or (in darker times) to execute those they disagreed with. But that isn't what it says. Jesus says to look at yourself and get rid of what it is about you that is making you stumble. It is a very personal call to examine ourselves and to take very radical action.
What makes me stumble on this journey? Most of us can probably name specifics, but they likely all boil down to something we want more than following the way of Jesus. Success? Friends? Respect? Financial security? Power? Jesus says to cut these things off if they are keeping you from following him. Deal with them. Get rid of them. You are better off without them. Many of us discover Jesus and then try to fit him into our lives. But to follow Jesus, there is a radical transformation required - one where Jesus tells us to unload the baggage. It isn't about fitting Jesus into our lives, but about letting him change us.
Do we ignore Jesus' teaching to deal radically with what makes us stumble?
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