Good morning (or afternoon) brothers and sisters in Christ! I hope and pray that your day is blessed. Also that you know whatever comes your way, the Lord is both with and before you. Today I’m writing out my thoughts as I reflect on a personal journey that I’ve been on since the day after Christmas 2021. The journey actually began several years ago, however I’ve stalled, lost progress and have started over and over again.
That is my personal fitness and health journey that I’m speaking about. Over the course of this journey it has amazed me how many times God has shown me parallels between my physical health in my body and spiritual health and truth. Even Paul and Jesus made references between the physical body and the spiritual reality of the believer.  So in time I may add in some blogs that share those different parallels.
But without further ado, let’s get back to the main point.  I remember when I first decided that I was going to begin following a specific exercise program. It consists of different videos that you follow along with each day depending on what the focus is for that day. I remember my first couple of times through. I couldn’t breathe or see straight because of the shock of the intensity of the workout. I was gasping for air and panting as though an observer would probably think my life was in danger. But the thing that marveled me was that the trainer in the video could speak clearly and coherently while working out harder than I was. I couldn’t even muster up the strength to shout to my son to move his toys out of my way.
This really caught my attention. This trainer was talking as though it was easy. And that is when it hit me. The Holy Spirit brought me back to the passages of scripture where Jesus talked about removing the log from our own eye before we worry about the plank in our brother’s eye. If we remove the log from our own eye, only then can we see clearly to help our brother to remove the plank from his eye (Matthew 7:5). I realized that this trainer has done the hard work to get in the physical shape that he was in. It was only when he did the hard work to get himself in shape that he could coherently speak during a workout to help me get through that same workout.
It’s so easy to see what other people are doing wrong and to become critical. We have a standard of the other people around us in our daily life, but sometimes we fail to see our own inability to follow that standard ourselves. That’s why I really believe that Jesus made this point just a few verses prior to the latter verse:
“For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you” Matthew 7:2.
But Jesus would tell us that the improvement starts with us. It starts with us going to His word daily and making the decision to conform to it. We do what it says and we rely on the Holy Spirit to transform our hearts and minds. And in doing so we will be transformed to help others walk in truth. And we will never get it perfect the first time around, but grace says to get back up and do it again. Try again, tell the truth again even if you told a lie to someone you love. Believe again as you seek the Lord’s face this morning even if the guilt of your doubt has been a battle all week. That’s the grace and mercy of Christ. If we don’t make repentance and faith in His forgiveness a daily exercise, we will again become out of shape and unable to be a help to ourselves or anyone around us.