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The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.” 1 Corinthians 1:18-19
In ‘Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” there are a couple of instances where ‘Willie’ implores certain misbehaving children to come back, or to stop some activity. It’s humorous because he makes no effort to stop the child. He simply asks them to stop and leaves the ultimate decision up to them. Each child to whom this admonition is given refuses to listen and finds themselves in some predicament needing rescue…and expulsion from the tour.
We can laugh at those antics and choices, but we also need to be aware of the truth exhibited in human nature. The Old Testament story of Noah and the Ark is similar. In Luke 17:27, Jesus is quoted as saying “In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.”
Will it be the same for us? Paul says that we are without excuse in our refusal to follow God. He has shown us through the heavens (which we have explained away as chance); He has shown us through his Word (which we have labeled as irrelevant stories and information); He has shown the ultimate example through his son Jesus Christ (who we executed, not because of his crimes, but because of his refusal to follow the status quo).
One of the last things Jesus told his disciples is that someday he would return for us. The Apostle John tells us more details about this when he says that every eye will see him and every knee will bow before him, regardless of whether they believe or not.
So we are met with two challenges. First of all, will we reject the offer of eternal life with Christ because we’ve refused to accept his free gift? No one will go to hell because of their sin. That was taken care of on the cross. However, we will go to hell for rejecting the free ticket to heaven.
The second challenge is for those of us who know we will enjoy eternity with Christ. Right up until the day Noah entered the Ark he pled with people to accept God. Will we do the same? Will we pray for our enemies and plead with those we love to come to Christ? Or will we simply watch them continue on a path of self-destruction and utter the words of Willie Wonka “No. Stop. Please Don’t.”
There will be many who will mock us during our walk on earth, just as they did Jesus. How will you respond?
PRAYER: Father God. Thank you that I can know I’ll spend eternity with you. Give me the passion to reach others and the opportunities I need to share Jesus. Amen.
*Photo courtesy of Google Photos
“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Luke 6:27-28
A couple weeks ago we went to a local apple orchard on our fall run to pick some fresh, crisp apples. As we were walking through the rows and rows of trees our conversation turned to the many types of apples there are. Some are sweet, some tart; some soft, some hard; some are good for eating right off the tree, others are better for pies, baking and apple sauce. Amazing the choices we have and there are new varieties coming out every year.
Enemies are like apples in a sense. There are all sorts of them out there. There are enemies a half a world away that we hear about on the news. We shake our heads at them and perhaps our fists. We pray for them, but for most of us, our prayers are vague, general voices of concern for people we’ve never met, and based on fear of our own safety and freedom.
There are the enemies based in the political arena, whether that is church politics or government. Again, we’ve never seen them but the choices they make directly, or indirectly affect our comfort and from time to time attack our convictions.
There is the unseen enemy of course. Satan, or one of his ugly cohorts, lurks behind every corner waiting to through darts of worry, temptation, judgmental, anger or a whole host of lies at us. Lies about our self-worth; lies about our God; lies about other people.
Perhaps the biggest enemy each of us faces every day is the enemy next door. I don’t mean your physical neighbor, but those who are closest to you emotionally. The child that no longer sees it necessary to follow your faith; the spouse who neglects, abuses or abandoned you, the boss who never sees anything you do as worthwhile. The friend or family member that misunderstands you, accuses you or makes you feel worthless. The parent who has never ever been there for you but now has all this advice to give you, advice you don’t need or want.
These enemies hurt the worst because, if we let them, they determine who we are, how we feel about ourselves and what God is like. They are the closest ones to us emotionally and can destroy us in a heartbeat with a flippant word, sarcasm or open attack.
It’s also these enemies that Jesus talked about on the hillside that day. He wasn’t telling the people to love some system that caused them pain. He was talking about the people we rub shoulders with every day. The ones that hurt us constantly. The people who, when we see them, cause the lump to form in your gut.
So, how can we do that? How can we love that person who hates the ground we walk on? How can we love that person who once professed to love us but has now turned their back on us? What Jesus is really commanding us to do is to counter every negative action directed towards us with a positive action. Sometimes that may mean that even though we have to remove ourselves from a harmful situation, we still refuse to speak evil of the person who attacked us. Sometimes it may mean praying a prayer that says, “God, I am supposed to pray for them but I’m so full of hurt right now I can’t. Help me.” I believe God honors the honest prayer of helplessness when we have to deal with the painful enemies of our heart.
I have to confess that the idea of being kind to people who have openly, intentionally and willfully attacked me isn’t pleasant. In fact, I struggle to do that. This is perhaps the hardest part of the Christian life, to love those in my circle who refuse to love back. So, how do we do it? Here are some suggestions from a person who has not yet attained.
- Remember that God DOES love you and understands how hard it is to love people who reject and hurt you. People do it to Him every day and since we are made in His image that means He feels that pain as well.
- Remember that God also created the ‘jerks’ of the world and His desire it to bring them to Himself, just as He did you.
- Remember that God realizes that you can’t do this on your own. It’s a process and requires that we lean heavily on the power of the Holy Spirit to help us.
- Lastly, Remember that we are told to love our enemies and as much as possible live at peace with them. Loving our enemies doesn’t necessarily mean we trust and live in relationship with those who have abused us physically, spiritually or emotionally.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father. I’m hurt. The hurt that I feel right now is the result of people who I thought I could trust who have turned on me. They are family members, friends, former lovers and/or even my own children. I feel completely alone and misunderstood here. Still, because of Jesus in my life I want to do as you’ve commanded. I want to love my enemies through the power of your Holy Spirit. Please help me have the wisdom and strength to love those nearest to me. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 