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Why Love Isn’t What Is Needed to Combat Hatred
Devotional THought of the Day:
19 But Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. 21 No, don’t be afraid. I will continue to take care of you and your children.” So he reassured them by speaking kindly to them. Genesis 50:19-21 (NLT)
2 This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. 3 For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. Psalm 91:2-3 (NLT)
For the past week, I have been getting more and more weary. As I see people respond to the unrest in places like Ferguson, or the despair in places like Detroit, as I see the hatred that the President’s actions took regarding immigration, I find myself getting more and more depressed.
If you go – well, of course, look what THEY are doing, please keep reading. For I see the anger and hatred in the reactions of both sides of the issues. It’s just not electronic social media, you can’t even eat lunch in public place without hearing the hatred, the condescension, the call for others to change, but rarely, very rarely, the call to reconciliation, to coming together, to true fellowship. We even create ways to mock the injustice we perceive, not seeing the mocking as less than just…
Some have hated the hating. Demanding that others love, asking why can’t “THEY” just get along. Or quoting platitudes about love and hate as if people were easily capable of the former, and able to just stop the latter. As if we could stop sinning with the snap of a finger, as if we could love without self-sacrifice, as if life was as simple as platitudes and the memes which present them.
I entitled this blog “Why Love isn’t what is needed to combat hatred”, because I keep seeing such memes, such advice. It’s as if this is a war between good and evil, a war between love and hate. It’s not. good doesn’t conquer evil, and love cannot hate hatred enough to go to war against it. What turns love into something that can hatred is fear, fear created because of a lack of what we do need.
Faith.
For without faith in God, faith in Christ’s work on the cross, trust in the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives, what we call love, is not love. It is not the cHesed type of love which sacrifices and bears every burden, so as to bless and reconcile the relationship. Without faith/trust in God we can’t cope with the pain of others, we can’t stop the fear of being hurt again, we can’t cope with the anxiety that living in a sin-plagued world brings.
When you have a moment, look at home many times the psalms call God a refuge? It takes faith/trust to see this. Or how God is described as our hiding place, (and include Colossians 3:2) in that. Look at what God can do to evil, when we trust in Him as our focus, rather than fighting back. Joseph did this, Paul learned to do this from Stephen. David did this when Saul was after him.
In order to love, we have to have the faith, the confidence that God will make all things work for good, even though waiting for that good will be…challenging. For we must trust God through the pain, through what we perceive as evil, knowing that He is Lord, that He is our refuge, that we are protected, our hearts and minds, by Jesus. For as we dwell in Him, the Father surrounds us with peace, the peace that comes from finding refuge.
Lord, help us to trust you more than being repulsed by hatred… and help us love and sacrifice, that all would come to know You1
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 1565-1570). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The Only Work The Church is Entrusted With
Devotional Thoughts of the Day:
For if a man is in Christ he becomes a new person altogether – the past is finished and gone, everything has become fresh and new. All this is God’s doing, for he has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ; and he has made us agents of the reconciliation. God was in Christ personally reconciling the world to himself – not counting their sins against them – and has commissioned us with the message of reconciliation. We are now Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were appealing direct to you through us. As his personal representatives we say, “Make your peace with God.” For God caused Christ, who himself knew nothing of sin, actually to be sin for our sakes, so that in Christ we might be made good with the goodness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:16 (Phillips NT)
103 Your life, your work, should never be negative, nor anti anything. It is—it must be!—positive, optimistic, youthful, cheerful and peaceful.
As I write this blog, a movie I’e longed to see id playing on my television. It is called Monuments Men, A bunch 0f artists and aficionados who have a mission. Some give all they have, their very lives to accomplish the mission. Some find a sense of redemption, a sense of meaning in the life that is given in pursuit of mission.
How much more should we be driven to focus on our mission? How much more should our love for God drive our mission, we should be willing to sacrifice for our mission, the way soldiers did, for the stakes are the same.
The mission, the raison d’etre, of the church.
In truth, there is only one ministry. There is one mission God has given His people. One work He has commissioned for us, the work He hs planned for us to be part of since before the foundation of the world.
The mission, the ministry of reconciling the world to Himself.
We are to be the agents of such reconciliation.
That is our only ministry, it is our mission, it is the work He has given to us, that He has gifted us.
It is our hope, it is our life, walking with the Lord, fulfilling His will.
And there are times where it gets to pessimistic, to depressing, to negative.
Yet it is too easy. We are effected by what goes on around us. The seemingly impossible task of reconciling people together. The seemingly impossible task of seeing what God so desires to come to fruition. We here of church politics, or we see brothers fighting each other without mercy, without recognizing the unity we have, because we are reconciled together in Christ. We see brothers dismiss each other, questioning each other, avoiding actual discussion, hiding behind defenses created to avoid any real conversation.
It is too easy to get caught up in the negativity, in the political machiavellianism. In the lack of reconciliation.
But what were we expecting? That this ministry, which required Jesus to die on the cross would be easy? THat we would snap our fingers and relationships would be reconciled and healed?
Even knowing the cost, we have a God who asks us in fulfilling His dream, of seeing Him call people to be His people, to see them healed, counted righteous.
it’s what we are called to do.
Nothing else. though we will do this in all we do……every vocation, in every place, in every moment we have. Especially in the midst of our sin…our sin, the sins of the people God calls, so that He can cleanse the of that sin.
So let’s get back to our service, let us work hard to diligently do what God has called us to do…..
and realize this…
13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Philippians 2:13 (NLT)
Rejoice… He will complete this work in you! in us!
He has promised this. so trust Him!
.
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 575-576). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Is Desiring Reconciliation Optional for Christians?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
11 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die? Ezekiel 33:11 (NLT)
23 “Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign LORD. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live. Ezekiel 18:23 (NLT)
9 The Lord is not being slow in carrying out his promises, as some people think he is; rather is he being patient with you, wanting nobody to be lost and everybody to be brought to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 (NJB)
18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 (NLT)
824 Do you feel as if goodness and absolute truth have been deposited with you, and therefore that you have been invested with a personal title or right to uproot evil at all costs? You will never solve anything like that, but only through Love and with love, remembering that Love has forgiven you and still forgives you so much! (1)
Therefore it is God’s ultimate purpose that we suffer harm to befall no man, but show him all good and love; and, as we have said it is specially directed toward those who are our enemies. (2)
It seems like yesterday I had to quote the passages above from Ezekiel a half dozen times, and should have quoted them a dozen more.
In each, people were rejoicing over brokenness. Some were larger than life, as they rejoiced over victories in war. Some were more organized, as people planned to celebrate larger divisions between people groups. (including the Reformation.) Some were far more personal, as people encouraged each other to rejoice in division, to rejoice in broken relationships. There were even a couple of situations were those trying to promote reconciliation were attacked and mocked.
Yes I know, that in some of these cases, pain is involved, But what about those who encourage the joy? What about those who welcome the brokenness, who encourage it?
It is even more tragic that in each case, the people involved were leaders in the church. Some of the brokenness was in the midst of the church, Traumatic and tragic, this lack of desire for reconciliation is!
And it is not Christian. It is not imitating Christ. It is not being obedient to His giving us the mission of reconciling people to Him, as Paul points out. For in reconciling them to Him, we find them reconciled to us.
Life isn’t a personal crusade to stamp out evil. That only turns us into evil people, as we place ourselves in the place of God.
Life isn’t about rejoicing over division, over the bad things which happen to those we consider enemies, adversaries, or just pain in the ass’s.
God has told us to love them, to work for their good, to see them reconciled to Christ. For that is His will, even though every person who is brought to reconciliation was once God’s enemy, who chose evil over good, and hate over love.
This blog isn’t easy to write. I have my own people I struggle with, who I have to grow in Christ to love and seek to reconcile with. But let me tell you, the joy that is there when we do… is amazing.
I’ll leave you with this blessing, knowing that it pleases God when people reconcile:
20 Now may the God of peace— who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood— 21 may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen! Hebrews 13:20-21 (NLT)
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 3390-3393). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
(2) The Large Catechism of Martin Luther.
Forgiveness is Not A Learned Action or Skill
Devotional Thought of the Day:
6 For when we were still helpless, Christ died for the wicked at the time that God chose. 7 It is a difficult thing for someone to die for a righteous person. It may even be that someone might dare to die for a good person. 8 But God has shown us how much he loves us—it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us! 9 By his blood we are now put right with God; how much more, then, will we be saved by him from God’s anger! 10 We were God’s enemies, but he made us his friends through the death of his Son. Now that we are God’s friends, how much more will we be saved by Christ’s life! Romans 5:6-10 (TEV)
804 That friend of ours with no false humility used to say: “I haven’t needed to learn how to forgive, because the Lord has taught me how to love.” (1)
There are times where I am amazed by the simplicity and truth in St. Josemaria’s writings.
A lot of ministry deals with reconciliation, bringing back together, and balancing out that which is broken. It might be reconciling the relationship of a married couple who have “fallen out of love”. Or reconciling a church that has too long buried conflict, thinking that if they ignored it, they could all get along. OR reconciling someone who is so burdened and oppressed by sin, that they cannot even imagine that they could be forgiven.
Reconciliation begins with forgiveness, which is where the healing starts.
But forgiveness, true forgiveness, where we ask that God doesn’t count their sin against them, (and therefore neither do we) is difficult or hard, or at least it seems to be. It seems to be unnatural, something we have to be forced to do. Our hearts cry against it, saying things like, I will forgive, but I won’t forget. It requires we give up our right for revenge, we lower our defenses, we acknowledge that this could happen 7 times 70 minus one more time.
Forgiveness leaves us weak and defenseless, or so we fear. It leaves us anxiety ridden, as we await the next blow. If it is not real, but if forgiveness is simply an act, it leaves us grumbling and ready to complain to whomever will listen, and assist us in self-justification. We can even justify ourselves by pointing out that while we’ve forgiven them, they haven’t done anything to reconcile the situation.
Forgiveness can’t be done simply because it is commanded. It is not a matter of obedience and discipline in its own right. There has to be something in us, that causes us to desire forgiveness, to desire to find that reconciliation, to give up all of our rights, in order to do what is best for the other person.
Forgiveness is impossible, without love.
Deep, abiding love.
The kind that acts like superglue in our relationships.
If we love them, we will seek what is best for them, which includes the forgiveness of every sin.
St. Josemaria has it right, if we love them, as Christ loves us, it is not a matter of needing instruction, or even being commanded to forgive, to reconcile with them. We become like Paul, willing to sacrifice anything, in order that they would be reconciled to God, for that is what forgiveness is about as well. Asking that the Father not hold them accountable, asking that God forgives them. Forgiveness and reconciliation become what we are naturally compelled to do, as we love them.
Which means we have to know Christ’s love first. We have to see this in action, and more importantly know that we’ve been forgiven this way. Romans 5 above has to become so integral to us, we have to realize what it means that God loved us, and therefore forgave us, and made His home among us who sinned against Him.
It is that love of His, which we are embraced in, that leads us to know the joy of having sin removed, of having guilt and shame done away with, that brings us to the joy He sought for us, the joy that He shares in, as reconciliation is not just a word, but a reality. We are loved, we are free to love in return, all else is shed.
In that moment, loved by God, we find that forgiveness doesn’t take strength of character, it simply is the natural action of one who loves, as they are loved.
Do I Really Have to????? Yes! Love Them!
Devotional and Discussion Thought of the Day:
7 And work for the peace and prosperity of Babylon. Pray for her, for if Babylon has peace, so will you.” Jeremiah 29:7 (TLB)
760 All right, I agree! That person has behaved badly; his behaviour has been reprehensible and unworthy; he deserves no merit at all. Humanly speaking he deserves to be utterly despised, you added. I understand what you mean, I can assure you, but I do not share this concluding view of yours. That life which seems so mean is sacred. Christ has died to save it. If He did not despise it, how can you dare to? (1)
I am on vacation, and we’ve driven a bit here and there, and my memories go back to my childhood vacations in the lake region and in White Mountains of New Hampshire. Three kids in the back of the old Chevy Malibu, and later in the Monte Carlo. God a bit cramped back there, and let’s just say it is was about as peaceful as the Holy Land. There was even the innocent victim (me) caught in between the rival factions.. I can still hear my dad and mom instructing my siblings to get along, to love each other, sometimes even to give each other a hug… a nice gentle one.
And the loud pitched, whining reply, ‘do I really have too???????”
Move forward to today. Even if we are not caught into a political and historical mess like Israel and Palestine, we find ourselves in serious disagreements, We have rivals, we have those we don’t like, and we have those we are seemed destined to hate, because they hate us. We are at war, sometimes in our workplaces, other times in our neighborhoods, with distant family, and sometimes, sad to say, in our homes.
We justify our anger, we get protective to stop the pain, to defend our reputations, even our families. There is a meme going around, saying that if they drop their guns, there will be peace, but if we drop ours, we will be annihilated. Not sure how true this is, but we take it is as truth, and apply that truth in our lives. We want at least the personal version of Mutually Assured Destruction.
We don’t realize how damaging this is, this dealing with enemies, this always defending ourselves.
Israel was in captivity when Jeremiah wrote these words, with the ancestors of those they have been engaged in hostilities with for centuries. The prophet’s words are different, they don’t call for strategy, they don’t call for defensive posturing. I chose the translation from the Living Bible because it identifies the city, these enemies. Here it is, as we would normally here it,
7 And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.” Jeremiah 29:7 (NLT)
Do I really have to? Do I really have to love them, to pray for them? Do I have to sacrifice time and energy to work for their peace and not just survival, but prosperity?
Do I really have to?
I mean St Josemaria described them so well, “All right, I agree! That person has behaved badly; his behaviour has been reprehensible and unworthy; he deserves no merit at all. Humanly speaking he deserves to be utterly despised, you added.”
And the response, read it again,
I understand what you mean, I can assure you, but I do not share this concluding view of yours. That life which seems so mean is sacred. Christ has died to save it. If He did not despise it, how can you dare to?
Here is a way, similar to the words above, that helps. Hear Jesus words from the cross, Father, forgive (insert your name), for they know not what they do. See Him utter those words, even as He is dieing, even as the pain wracks His body, even as the blood drips to the ground. Now, Look at your adversary, see Jesus on the cross, begging the Father to forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing as well. Let this thought be pondered in your heart for 10 or 15 minutes…. really dwell on it. Not just picture it for a second – go that’s nice. But dwell on it until the tears come, till the pain is pulsing in your body, and then purged of it, the peace rushes into your soul.
See both of you, broken there… yet being lifted by Christ. For in Christ, that which divides us is broken, in Christ there is mercy, in Christ, there is healing.
That’s why Jeremiah calls for us to pray for those who oppress us, because as God makes Himself known to them, as He calls them to be His children, as He blesses them, the blessing to us is beyond compare.
St Paul mentions this in his words to the Church in Galatia…
27 And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on the character of Christ, like putting on new clothes. 28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:27-28 (NLT)
There is our goal, this is our mission, our apostolate, to long for this healing, this reconciliation. Tough? Yes. Painful? Yes? Calling us to sacrifice beyond our means? Yes.
In Christ, there is no other choice. It is our vocation, our life.
We pray, “Lord, have mercy on us sinners!”
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 3158-3162). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
2 days Blog: You Can’t Handle His Truth…… or can you?
Discussion and Devotional Thought of the Day:
WARNING THIS BLOG POST MAY ANNOY THE HELL OUT OF YOU!
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, if my brother keeps on sinning against me, how many times do I have to forgive him? Seven times?” 22 “No, not seven times,” answered Jesus, “but seventy times seven, 23 because the Kingdom of heaven is like this. Once there was a king who decided to check on his servants’ accounts. 24 He had just begun to do so when one of them was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. 25 The servant did not have enough to pay his debt, so the king ordered him to be sold as a slave, with his wife and his children and all that he had, in order to pay the debt. 26 The servant fell on his knees before the king. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay you everything!’ 27 The king felt sorry for him, so he forgave him the debt and let him go. 28 “Then the man went out and met one of his fellow servants who owed him a few dollars. He grabbed him and started choking him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he said. 29 His fellow servant fell down and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back!’ 30 But he refused; instead, he had him thrown into jail until he should pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were very upset and went to the king and told him everything. 32 So he called the servant in. ‘You worthless slave!’ he said. ‘I forgave you the whole amount you owed me, just because you asked me to. 33 You should have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you.’ 34 The king was very angry, and he sent the servant to jail to be punished until he should pay back the whole amount.” 35 And Jesus concluded, “That is how my Father in heaven will treat every one of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” Matthew 18:21-35 (TEV)
569 If you are annoyed at being told the truth, then… why do you ask? Is it perhaps that you want to be answered with your own “truth” so your errant ways can be justified? (1)
It seems the number of FB and Twitter posts recently that talk about how to treat those who sin against you, those who don’t meet your standards f behavior, those that just tick you off are on the rise.
Most don’t called for a counter-attack or revenge, or so it seems. But they do, as they justify walking walking away, as they justify completely terminating the relationship, as they call for you to slam the door in the face of the one hurting, disrespecting, annoying and sinning against you. They might even say that they forgive, but can never forget. Or they talk about forgiveness, but not allowing the person to hurt or disappoint them again.
But that leads to a question – what good is it if there is forgiveness, if there is not the possibility of reconciliation? If you cut someone off after the 7th sin, how in the world can they sin against you 69*7 more????
Undoubtedly, some are thinking – what about in cases of abuse, where violence has erupted, where there have been criminal acts like murder or rape? What about where there are atrocities like genocide? Are you saying that we must reconcile with “those” people? Do we have to provide them the option of hurting us again? Do we have to encourage something that we know could end in more pain?
That’s a good question, a very hard one.
But it is one we have to ask!
We have to realize that true forgiveness requires and hungers for reconciliation, for restoration. It may not happen, but we have to desire it.
What can reconciliation look like? Can it be done with gradually, rebuilding that which was lost? Can we diligently work to restore that which was broken, to see it healed? ( Not just tolerating the brokenness) If our absence is necessary (and sometimes it is until repentance manifests) can we grieve over that, rather than triumph in it? Do we weep as Christ wept over stubborn Jerusalem?
Jesus never said following Him would be easy. Paul talked about it in terms of suffering like/with Jesus is necessary here – because of the glory we will share with Him there. So there will be sacrifices we will have to make, especially to our pride, especially to our expectations. We will have to have the attitude of a servant, for we serve God, even as Jesus did. Our work isn’t to promote ourselves, but to work at seeing His desire fulfilled… the desire that all come to repentance, that all come and are reconciled and restored, that all are presented perfect in Christ.
Look at the servant – forgiven by God of millions, who wouldn’t forgive such a small debt! He’s talking about us when we separate reconciliation from forgiveness, when we pull back – not to urge repentance, but out of a desire to save ourselves, to guard our pride, or even our reputation. We have no problem seeing the servant as evil and wrong, yet do we see the same lesson in our own lives. The truth of this parable stings, it hurts, when we realize we aren’t really forgiving, because we demand with the forgiveness that reconciliation isn’t possible. That’s not forgiveness – that saying they don’t have to pay the debt – but we will still remember they owe us. That isn’t right. It isn’t the way of the truth.
If we know this is true, Mercy must reign in our lives. That we effectively use both God’s law and the gospel correctly to witness redemption occur.
It’s a very tough calling – living this way. Yet it is His call on our lives, it is the truth that we see in Christ. In fact, it is the truth that we can’t see outside of Him, and without the Holy Spirit’s help – it is impossible to see this truth revealed in our lives. But we need to see it, it will imprison and slowly kill us until we do.
Lord have mercy on us! Help us handle the truth, that we are called to live a life of forgiveness… as those who forgive and reconcile, and those forgiven and reconciled!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 2433-2435). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The Lord’s response to “Lord please defeat my enemies!”
Devotional Thought of the Day:
15 Then I said, “LORD, you understand. Remember me and help me. Let me have revenge on those who persecute me. Do not be so patient with them that they succeed in killing me. Remember that it is for your sake that I am insulted. 16 You spoke to me, and I listened to every word. I belong to you, LORD God Almighty, and so your words filled my heart with joy and happiness. 17 I did not spend my time with other people, laughing and having a good time. In obedience to your orders I stayed by myself and was filled with anger. 18 Why do I keep on suffering? Why are my wounds incurable? Why won’t they heal? Do you intend to disappoint me like a stream that goes dry in the summer?” 19 To this the LORD replied, “If you return, I will take you back, and you will be my servant again. If instead of talking nonsense you proclaim a worthwhile message, you will be my prophet again. The people will come back to you, and you will not need to go to them. Jeremiah 15:15-19 (TEV)
419 An apostle must not remain at the level of the mediocre. God calls him to be fully human in his actions, and at the same time to reflect the freshness of eternal things. That is why the apostle has to be a soul who has undergone a long, patient and heroic process of formation. (1)
A few days ago, I wrote a blog that we as Christians don’t really have enemies, we have adversaries. That our goal was not to defeat them, or crush them, but instead to love them, to pray for them, to come alongside them, that they may know the love of God. That is what following in the footsteps of Jesus is, that is what being a child of God looks like. Growing in our trust of God to the extent that we begin to love as Christ does.
I got a bit of feedback, some quite defensive saying we can’t avoid enemies – they will come after us. My point seemed to be lost, or maybe poorly communicated? It is not that they don’t oppress us, or challenge us, or even hate us. That’s on them. But when we decide that they are enemies, when we make that judgment, it places us in a battle, either offensive or defensive, and negates our ability to minister to them. Our reaction to enemies is different than our reaction to an adversary.
this morning in my devotional time, I read the passage from Jeremiah above. Jeremiah is one who had significant opposition, primarily for speaking out for what God wanted from His people, what He expected as part of the relationship, how He expected them to love each other, and Him. Not a easy message then, nor is it one today. He got a lot of opposition, and here we see him asking God to take care of it. The opposition is real, death threats have been made, serious ones. This isn’t just whining because he didn’t get his way.
But his attention in the midst of the opposition has shifted. It has become personal, this opposition to God’s word. Jeremiah has lost his focus, as we all do at times. He focuses in on his on righteousness, his own goodness.
And God rebukes him, takes him back to the beginning.
God doesn’t promise vengeance on them, instead He tells Jeremiah to return, to repent, to re-focus on the relationship between God and Jeremiah.
That’s a message many of us, including me, perhaps today especially me, need to hear. For we get tired and weary, as we see people choose evil, make decisions that ignore God, and walk on paths that are self-destructive. The temptation is to compare their journey to ours. “Wouldn’t they be better off like us, why can’t they see this?”
While what we should be doing is speaking to them about Jesus’ love, about His mercy, about their need for it in their lives. They need to hear His message, His gospel, His word, and that may take some time. It may take some time for us to get it right, to learn to speak His word, not focus on our situation, to bear His cross, to pray for those who persecute us. Rather than just condemn them and desire wrath, or to give up hope for them, we need to learn that if God is patient with us, not willing that any should perish but all come to repentance… than that is our path, our desire. This focus on the eternal takes time – even for prophets and apostles… we just need to remember to turn to Him…..
So we need to pray for them, ask God to save them, Speak the truth in love regarding their sin and ours, and that God offers hope… He will return them… He will welcome them home.
Lord, have mercy on us ALL…. AMEN
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1878-1880). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The Glorious Miracle We Are Tasked With, because we have life in Christ.
Devotional Thought of the Day:
20 As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! 21 Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” 22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” John 20:20-23 (NLT)
17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (NLT)
193 Those who have met Christ cannot shut themselves in their own little world: how sad such a limitation would be! They must open out like a fan in order to reach all souls. Each one has to create—and widen— a circle of friends, whom he can influence with his professional prestige, with his behaviour, with his friendship, so that Christ may exercise his influence by means of that professional prestige, that behaviour, that friendship. (1)
In a recent class i was teaching, the question of miracles came up. Does the Holy Spirit still accomplish them, and does He still do it through people that have been saved?
My answer, “Without a doubt yes. God isn’t subject to the doctrines of the enlightenment.”
But it got me thinking, what is a miracle, and are we as aware of God doing the impossible as we should be? Also, I thought a moment, if the Resurrection of Jesus is the greatest of miracles, is not the resurrection of one dead in sin, which happens when they are united to Christ in His death and resurrection, also a glorious thing? It is, whether it is a newborn baby, a prodigal teen, or an elderly person, who finally heard that God’s love was for them. This is why the reading from Corinthians starts with our being given a new life
But that life, like Christ’s is sent into the world, and given the same task, the task of reconciling the world to the Father. Just as Christ brought us back to the Father. The word there that the NLT translates as task, other translations talk about as ministry, or service. I am not sure why, but many in the church hear this as optional, or restricted to a few, or perhaps we are just apathetic. But this is why we are sent, more importantly it is why He was sent, to see God at work, through His word, through the sacraments, calling people and seeing the reconciled to God. That is what forgiveness is about – not just wiping a slate clean – but healing and restoring relationships that have been broken.
We weren’t sent to establish clubs, or to be wordsmiths, or to write music, or to become rich and respected. That is not our raison d’etre, our reason for being. Walking with God is, and part of that is doing what He does, reconciling people to Himself. Whatever it takes, even death..
God does use those talents, the respect or prestige we gain, our behavior and our friendships to reach people. Even as Christ befriended us. But the talents are given to use as we see people reconciled to God. It is part of the very gift we are given as God makes us new creations, as He gives us new life.
And yes, that means we find new people to reach, that they may be reconciled. It means we do see our vocations as part of our ministry, part of our Christian life. Not just as an obligation, but whom we are in Christ.
May we be in awe at the work Jesus does in us, and through us, as God reconciles the world to Himself! AMEN
While this is eternal, there is also a
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1017-1021). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Thou Shalt Not Kill….what does this mean?
Treasuring God’s Gifts
Means We Value Deep Relationships,
Enough to Turn to Christ for Healing…
(rather than hurt others…or resent them )
Ex. 20:14, Eph 2:10, Luke 10:25-28, Mt, 5:21-24
In Jesus Name
May the Grace of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ bring you mercy, peace, and the healing that comes as sin is forgiven
If you desire bad for someone…gulp
Part of the gospel reading tonight seems a bit extreme.
Consider it again, just because you get angry at someone, you are to be judged by God?
If you call someone an idiot, or anything else negative, you are to be brought before God’s court to be found unrighteous?
Or if you wish or desire something bad to happen to someone, you find yourselves in danger of hell?
Wow……
Part of me wants to think that is a bit extreme, more than a bit challenging. Considering growing up near Boston, those things were how you treated your friends. (you don’t want to know how we treated our enemies)
Hearing this passage, where Jesus takes the 5th commandment and explains it, doesn’t sound like good news. He raises the bar higher it seems, He puts even more on the table than simply not murdering someone.
But it is the gospel, for as we begin to hear these words, not as a list of do’s and do not’s, but as how God’s work in our lives looks, we understand how this is gospel.
The secret to not hurting others, whether in body or soul, is about trusting in God and treasuring His work in our lives; so much so that we desire to turn over to God that which needs healing, that which is broken. Whether someone else broke it, or we did.
Killing off Life
When I hear this command, it’s often in a deep bass voice, like James Earl Jones, or Darth Vader,
THOU SHALL NOT MURDER!!!!!!
When I hear Jesus, as He is delivering the Sermon on the Mount, it is more of a pastor, a mentor type of voice. He’s explaining that the heart of the matter is not just shooting or plunging a sword into someone’s heart. It is thinking about, saying or doing anything which harms the neighbor/family member/co-worker that Jesus taught us to love, to treasure. The people that He died to save, to heal, to bring to the fullness of life.
It is that fullness of life, that masterpiece of God’s design, that He creates and perfects in us, that the “you must not murder”, is all about. For as we damage others, whether physically, emotionally or spiritually, we wreck our view of God’s design for us, and also the person we hurts view. We obscure the treasure, we stop it from being seen, and instead it is seen damaged, broken, less than God promises.
It is hard not to look at the damage, just like most of slow down when we see an accident on a freeway – we just have to know why the fire trucks and police cars are there. So when we our words do damage, when our anger divides us, it will attract our attention, our focus, just like the accident,
That distracts us from God’s love, from the peace He brings into our lives, as we are united with Christ’s death. It stops us from seeing the masterpiece, as our lives are consumed by damage…
They Are Dead to Me?
But it is not just because of our initial actions that hurt that we have to be aware of the blessing in this commandment.
It is the hurt we cause when we have been offended, when others have killed off part of us. Our desire for revenge or retribution, our inability to forgive is also a violation of this plan of God to make our lives a masterpiece.
For in striking back, in refusing to forgive, in wishing “they get what they deserve”, we are sinning as well, we are letting our anger get the best of us, we are saying unkind things toward them, and yes, we are cursing them. We let resentment wreck out lives, letting sins 3-5-20 years ago have power over us, shielding us from God’s love.
Ultimately, it boils down to faith, not in their ability to keep a promise to not hurt us again, nor in our promising not to hurt others, but trusting in the God who created us, who promises to take even what is evil, and use it for good, who promised that all things work out for good, for those who love Him, who are called into His life.
Time for Reconciliation & Healing
That is why Jesus sends people, coming to bless God with their offerings, who are struggling with others to drop their gifts, and go and seek reconciliation. To God, that is the kind of gift that He truly desires, to see people reconcile to Him, to see people reconcile to each other. TO see in those around us the value God has placed on their lives.
Which is where this becomes gospel.
For to find healing, either in the damage we have done to others, or in the damage others have done to us, we have to turn to Christ. We have to have confidence in His mercy, we have to trust in the promise of forgiveness, in His work bringing us to Himself in His death on the cross.
He’s here… ready to heal, ready to be the strength required to drop all the pain of broken relationships, to help us drop the pain caused by words, or by others cursing us.
We sang about this, just before I came up here….
Just as I am poor, wretched, blind
Sight, riches, healing of the mind
Yea, all I need, in Thee I’ll find
O Lamb of God I come I come
O I come to the Son who can heal with His wounds
O I come to the thief who has robbed ev’ry tomb
O I come to the Victor
my life and my love
O Lamb of God I come
And so, as we come to pray at this altar, it’s time to leave behind the brokenness that comes from our not treasuring our neighbor, from the pains we have caused, from the resentment we have held onto,
For Christ has promised to be our healer, our strength, our glory, and to make our lives a masterpiece… a place of peace… AMEN?
Is It Time to Shake the Dust off our Sandals?
An amazing look at a storm coming up, threatening the church and the village it is the center of life for….
Devotional Thought of the Day::
11 If you come to a town where people do not welcome you or will not listen to you, leave it and shake the dust off your feet. That will be a warning to them!” Mark 6:11 (TEV)
27 “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’ “‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed. “‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked. “‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’” Matthew 13:27-30 (NLT)
9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. 2 Peter 3:9 (NLT)
1 Don’t let your life be sterile. Be useful. Blaze a trail. Shine forth with the light of your faith and of your love. With your apostolic life wipe out the slimy and filthy mark left by the impure sowers of hatred. And light up all the ways of the earth with the fire of Christ that you carry in your heart. (1)
It seems as winter comes to an end, as we ready to change our clocks tonight, many of us are struggling with relationships. Even relationships that were broken many moons ago.
I’ve probably heard the top verse, about “shaking the dust” fifteen or twenty times in the past month. From pastors and church leaders, to those who come to church maybe once or twice a year. ( One of the conversations was about wiping the dust of a church off their feet – but I think they met the church as as an entire entity.)
I am tempted, in such conversations, to make them pull out a BIble, and look at the context of the passage. But often, in that moment, the pain they are reliving blinds them to that context. WHat would happen, what has happened, is that they selectively hear me, and continue to use the passage, or add me to those who dust has left their feet.
You see this passage isn’t about getting the people who are negative in our life, and doing away with them. It’s not even about pruning our relationship “tree”, cutting off the dead wood. Or getting those who presently won’t listen to the gospel out of our lives and circles, lest they comehow pollute our world, and our relationships. The shaking the dust off their feet was their ignoring the message of Jesus kingdom being established soon, not about our personal pains, oru brokenness, whether by our actions, theirs or a combination and desire for mutually assured destruction.
It’s not even about their rejecting the love of God, as we present it.
It can’t be, for if it were so, then what about the other passages I placed above, about Jesus commanding His servants to leave the weeds side by side until the Harvest, and about God’s desire and will that none perish. This passage about shaking the dust from one’s feet has to be understood in context with it. Could Peter be wrong about the patience of God? Could Jesus’ parable be set aside, if the people are too evil? That we rip them out of our lives, and refuse to share with them the very love of God, because we’ve closed the door?
You might ask about the two disciples in 1 Timothy, that Paul hands over to Satan, or the people in Matthew 18, that a congregation treats like publicans and sinners. Can’t we do that, we ask ourselves, trying to justify our own defenses. The question is, do you really see them, as former brothers and sisters in Christ? Those who have walked away, and only by experiencing the depth of despair that is found in being in bondage to Satan, will they cry out for mercy? Even then, you must ask yourself – if they repent, are you willing to take them back, to forgive them 7 times 70, or as many times as Jesus forgives…you? Are you willing to bring them and the issue before pastors, and event he chruch, in an attempt to reconcile it?
Are you willing to face the pain, embarassment, struggle, in order that reconciliation can happen?
Is it time to shake the dust off our feet? Are we willing that our action will be a testimony, a witness against them, that would see them in Hell? Or can we trust in Chirst, and with Him, blaze a trail of the glory of the gospel, His light that redeems and reconciles and heals? That covers their sins, not with time, but with the blood of Christ that will cleanse them?
Can we work to bring them to the altar of Christ?
Tough questions this day……
Lord, Have Mercy!
Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). The Way (Kindle Locations 171-173). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
