06/30/2024
In Your Eye
We were saddled way before the sun come up and I couldn’t help but bust out laughin’ when one of the other cowboys on the crew quoted one of Ace Reid’s cartoon characters, “Every mornin’ about this time, I wonder if there is any other way of makin’ a livin’.” What on earth could be better than to have a fresh horse saddled, a full belly, a cool mornin’, good men to work with, and someplace new to ride.
All the other hands here did this for a livin’, I do it because someone feels sorry for me enough to invite me to day work so the times I get to work from horse back are always treasured and enjoyed.
We had ridden all mornin’ and a little past noon gatherin’ cattle and had put ‘em all in the catch pen before we broke for dinner. The foreman’s wife brought out a big spread of sandwiches, tea, and coffee, (this was really a signal we weren’t gonna get time to check our eyelids for holes). After eatin’ all we could without feelin’ too full, we thanked the cook and bragged on her special way of fixin’ a real nice meal for us and went back to the pens to begin separatin’ the mamas from their calves, the bulls from the cows, and the heifers from the steers. There began to be a bawlin’ contest with those cows for those calves and those calves for their mamas it was purty deafenin’. There were a few hands that got hot and lathered because their horse didn’t turn back one or someone had the wrong gate opened or closed, or someone yelled at someone over the noise and the someone got a little mad.
Then the nightmare began. From out of nowhere, a B-52 bomber flew through the openin’ between my face and my glasses into the corner of my eye. Everything else became a very non-important issue as far as I was concerned. I didn’t care how many cows turned back on me, and I didn’t care how many men used my name in vain. I was in pain. I couldn’t see ‘cause both of my eyes were waterin’ faster than the windmill could pump water
Luke 6:41-42 “ 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, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye?...” NIV
I don’t know about you, but when somethin’ gets in my eye, I can’t think about anythin’ other than what is causin’ me to go blind. I can’t function well, dependin’ on the intensity of the pain, if its real bad, I can’t function at all and I don’t care if I do hurt your feelin’s. In fact, I’ll do just about anything to get it out includin’ askin’ someone else to look at my eyeball and remove the offender. I believe Yeshua/Jesus was makin’ just that point here. Everyone has fallen short of the Glory of the L-rd through sin and no one has the right to go diggin’ in to someone else’ business with a 2X4 stickin’ out of their own eye. I believe what Yeshua/Jesus is tellin’ us here is “Everyone of us has sin in our life, so we shouldn’t go makin’ public someone else’s fault or sin unless you, yourself are spotlessly clean of all sin.” Cowboy Simplified Version.
Yeshua/Jesus came into this life demonstratin’ perfect grace. We humans have a tendency of demonstratin’ perfect ungrace. We want everyone else to live a spotlessly clean life accordin’ to our vision, while all the while, our vision is clouded with our own blood, tears, and frustration ‘cause we can’t see to get the speck out of our own eye without help much less the 2X4. And that help comes from the Righteous One, the One Who knew no sin in His life but accepted ours.
I’m prayin’ that I’m a little more full of grace these days and I hope you’re able to overlook my human frailties and sins. Thunder, I’m prayin’ that we all become Christ like. You ready to start tryin’ a little harder?
