Faithful to the end, in spite of everything

“Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you.”

                                                                                               -The Gospel According to Saint Matthew

This is love at its most magnificent.

In order to love like this, we cannot be attached to ourselves. It is because we think so much about ourselves that we strike back, show resentment, speak harshly, move away. I have witnessed this phenomenon up close in the past couple of years. I am unable to understand my church friends who have been seemingly content to allow estrangement to remain, even to the point of leaving the fellowship due to the resentment that has been allowed to fester and become a cancer.

Jesus’ words do not mean agreeing with everything people say or supporting whatever they do. We sometimes have to oppose people we love.

Yet, if we do it tenderly, it is not likely that it will cost us a single friend. In fact, that person might say, “I’ve found a friend who will support me and stand beside me always.”

I am pleased that many of my brothers and sisters have stood the test of time and of conflict and have remained faithful.

On the other hand—in regards to those who have left out of resentment and hurt, it appears that the motivation for this kind of behavior is the falsehood that says—”I am hurt, and I remain resentful of that person, therefore out of my resentment, dislike and spite, I am going to withdraw my friendship and fellowship to them. That’ll show ‘em! That will hurt them back.” This is “an eye for an eye” thinking.

It is certainly an understandable human reaction. It just isn’t one that can be motivated by the Holy Spirit of Christ.

Like Jesus prayed, we must pray: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Only as empowered by the Holy Spirit do I believe it is possible to do this.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

You can do it! Yes you can.

Image
I claim to be an average man of less than average ability.I have not the shadow of a doubt that any man or woman can achieve what I have if he or she would make the same effort and cultivate the same hope and faith. -Mahatma Gandhi So, are you willing to give it your best? In this transformation of the small i's to the Real I, the essence, are you willing? to do the Work? Resolve to awaken to the inner motivations of the small self within. Observe yourself. Put some separation between you and your small self/ego. Observe your own behavior, thoughts, actions, motivations. Let the Spirit filter the way you respond to stresses from outside. For the Word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two edged sword, and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart-----------your heart! Who is The Living Word? The logos? You know.
Read more

Baylor has need of Christ’s wisdom

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can not serve both God and Mammon.” We ( Baylor - as a university community which says its follows Christ) have blindly served mammon, with the other schools in Texas…and look where it has taken us. Now money is driving the conference groupings even more than before- in 1995. Where will this lead? Texas—that is the University of Texas at Austin, is the driving force of the ‘we deserve more money’ movement. Fair enough, that is as it probably should be. UT is a dominant force in NCAA athletics. It is a secular school. It has absolutely no ties to the Gospel, other than the Gospel’s influence on our culture. Although far less in influence, the same goes for our militaristic land grant school, and our state’s other outpost, which defies description. But Baylor—why do we follow them? We say we are of Christ . I question that. Especially ...
Read more

Handling God's blessings with care

It is permissible to take life's blessings with both hands provided thou dost know thyself prepared in the opposite event to take them just as gladly. This applies to food and friends and kindred, to anything God gives and takes away. -Meister Eckhart In order to live in freedom, we must learn to accept a temporary disappointment, if necessary, when it is for our permanent well-being. Sometimes, when we want to eat something that appeals to us, or when we want to eat a little more than is necessary, we can't help feeling disappointment as we push away from the table. We cannot help thinking that we could as well have stayed on for five more minutes of pleasure, forgetting that it would probably be followed by five hours of stomachache at night. The right time to get up from the meal is when we want just a little more. This is real artistry, real gourmet judgment: when we find that everything is so good that we would like to have one more helping, we get up and walk away. ~Easwa...
Read more