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The Grace to Do It
By Bunny | March 8, 2010
There’s no way to go through life without being hurt. But if you think what the person who hurt you did was bad—wait till you see what bitterness will do. It will extend your pain, infect your attitude, control your moods and cause you to lose friends. Few things are worse than a person who only wants to talk about “what they did to me.” Get rid of the score cards. Burn them. The Bible tells us that love takes no account of a suffered wrong. Love does not keep record of a suffered wrong. It will eat you up and it only leads to self destruction. It is definitely a tool that the enemy loves to use on us. We could say it’s the bait of Satan. Jesus said, “There is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others” (Mt. 6:14-15 TM).
“But you don’t know what they did to me. You don’t know how they hurt me and I know it was on purpose.” No, but in reading the Scriptures you’ll discover what Jesus went through. Would you like to compare notes? His family thought He was mad. Some of those He healed called for His death. Even His disciples bailed out when the going got tough. Then add to that the weight of carrying the sins of the world, and you’ve more than reason to harbor bitterness. But instead He preached forgiveness—from a cross. And His Word to you today is: “Bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back” (Lk 6:28-30 NKJV). You say, “That’s hard to do.” Yes, but God will give you the grace to do it. He never tells us to do something without giving us the ability to do it. He knows we cannot do it without His enabling power, but with Him we can do all things.
Many of us would rather settle for achieving less, than put up with some people in our lives. People problems can be very difficult to deal with. Jesus chose twelve disciples to help Him fulfill His mission on earth. One of them doubted Him, one denied Him and one betrayed Him. Yet He called them, knowing what they were—and could become. After listing hardships that would make your worst day look like a walk in the park, Paul writes, “Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of…all the churches” (2 Cor. 11:28 NIV). His love for God is what motivated Paul to obey God and evangelize the many nations. He knew how much God loved people, so his love for people grew as his love for God grew. He loved what God loved. If you don’t genuinely care about people they’ll sense it and they won’t stay with you. They will not be drawn to you. He is the one we are to live like and to lift up when we are around people and that’s what will help us to be able to deal with those that are somewhat difficult to be around. It’s only by His grace that we are able to love the unlovely. To help the “stinkers” of this world. Have you ever been one of them? It may help us to remember that when we come across one of them. Let’s commit to live the Word. Love cares more for others than for self. That’s what I Corinthians 13:7 tells us. When we see it, then let’s do it. That is when we will be blessed. You are blessed to be a blessing. I love you. You’re in my prayers.
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