DDCP (Dove Dark Chocolate Promise)

Tonight, my delicious Dove Dark Chocolate Promise said: "Shape the future by dealing with the present."

What an echo of what God has been teaching me lately! Granted, Jesus puts it in much more eloquent words...

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?" (Matthew 7:3-4).

I usually skip over these verses. Like many other people, I don't really like the parts in the Bible that aren't feel-goody. They make me cringe and feel uncomfortable (and what is Christianity besides rainbows and butterflies!?--kidding of course). Well, recently, a friend brought this passage to me in a whole different light. Yes, I understand that this is saying don't judge, because who the hell are you to say anything about anyone else. I get it. But the way she put it was that who are we to even give advice until we have our own crap figured out.

I will admit it. I have a giant plank in my eye. It blocks my good vision. It makes me see the world spotted. I am working tirelessly to remove this plank. It takes a lot of humbling and submission to the One who should be the center of my vision. It is then that I am able to see the world with horse-like vision-- keeping my eye on the goal--aka Jesus. When my eyes are focused on him THEN I can work on healing and fixing this world, work on removing the (large amount of) dust from the world's vision.

God is reminding me that in order for me to love the most and reach the world to my best potential HE MUST BE THE CENTER of my life. HE must be my goal. If I try and "fix" the world with this plank in my eye, then the world will be patched with band-aids. Band-aids Jessica-made and less-than-perfect. In fact, put in my own hands, the world would be more broken. More hurting.

Only THE Healer and Redeemer can fully restore and heal the world. I need to take this damn plank out of my eye so that I can be a tool used by him to do so. In order for me to fix the future... I have to deal with the present.