Do you know - around the world - who it is that God saves?A woman with a blood disease …
A man possessed by demons …
A woman who's been married five times and is now living with Guy Number 6 …
A lady at a well, searching for the meaning of life …
A rich man completely lost in his spirit …
The sick -- the troubled -- the hurting -- the confused -- the outcast -- the down and out -- the crippled …
Oh, not crippled in their legs necessarily, but somewhere. Because we all limp. Every single one of us. And if you stick around long enough in life, you're going to be crippled -- you're going to be insulted -- offended -- hurt -- misused -- assaulted in some way ------- even by folks who should know better.
And very possibly -- listen to this -- very possibly, you'll unintentionally do some of the offending.
'Very possibly, you'll unintentionally do some of the offending.'
We need a spirit of forgiveness toward those
who have hurt us … even within the Body of Christ. Because even in church work, you can get hurt. And pastors, they hurt one another and they hurt church members … and church members, they hurt one another and they hurt pastors. And if we aren't careful, we can get an edge, we can get an attitude -- and we don't want that. We want an open, free spirit.
'God, help us not just stroke those who stroke us … just love those who love us … even pagans and those in the world do that much. Give us a heart for people who are unlovely -- even people who are against us -- crippled people -- hurt people -- wounded people -- difficult people -- different people -- people who don't have it all together -- people with broken hearts -- damaged emotions -- crushed spirits.'
That's all of us in some way, isn't it?
Yes.
'Give us Your kind of love, God -- even in the face of opposition, unkindness and judgmentalism -- even where there is nastiness. Give us mercy. And let our churches be centers of love and Spirit-filled grace. Take away harshness and the remembering of wrongs. Take away unforgiveness.'
And be blessed.
2 comments:
This is SO worth reading! I am not sure if it relevant to this post...maybe it is in some way. This is the second time I have run across this story. I just wanted to share, because it is worth it. Here is the link:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/29/living/before-i-die-walls-book/index.html?sr=fb120113beforeidie10p
I know many, many Christians will say to save as many souls as possible.... BUT, what is uniquely YOU? What is deep inside of you, just longing to come out? There are so many things one could say. Lol, what first came to mind for me, was "I did it my way." I suppose I need to explore this further in my mind. I just relish my autonomy. The best thing in life for me is to make my own choices...good or bad. Sometimes, God loves them and other times I face his discipline. However, this particular post isn't exactly about that. What ARE your most important dreams? What makes you tick and what is your hearts desire...I will be mulling it all over, myself. Hope this makes you stop and give it all some thought.
PK, this is something completely related to your blog post. Yesterday was certainly not one of my best days. I was faced with rudeness in four different situations. In order, my Dad, two different customers and one co-worker. I don't exactly know what kind of mood I was in, but I didn't want to just take it. I wanted to stick up for myself. So, I did with my Dad (I know, I know...honor your Father) I let the two customers go, since they were mad at the world, including their family. And my co-worker. I went to my supervisor. Anyway, I was not in the best of moods, after all that.
It is so hard to turn the other cheek and be slapped even further. It seems impossible to decide when to wave the "white flag" and when to stand your ground. What would Jesus do? I don't know. Probably be compassionate. I was just irritated. Anyway, I am sure tomorrow will be a better day....I hope.
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