Devo for 11/17/2024 service- Message by Pastor Clint Sprague
This week’s message in the series “The Way That Leads to Life” had three great points:
Jesus calls us to live differently
Jesus calls us to love differently
Jesus calls us to forgive differently
As Pastor Clint pointed out, all three of these are somewhat difficult to put into practice. I think this is because living, loving, and forgiving differently means we have to change our heart posture without expecting others to change theirs.
I think if we are truthful, we would agree this doesn’t seem “fair.” But God is not about being fair; He is about grace. Grace is a word we are more than willing to talk about, but we are also sometimes quick to justify why grace is not warranted in a particular situation. But the definition of grace removes any justification for withholding it we think we might have. Grace means unearned favor, gift, or blessing. This is made clear in Matthew:
But I tell you, don’t resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your coat as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Matthew 5:39-41
When someone has hurt or offended us, it is hard to respond with grace. As stated above, our “fleshly” response is to think something is unfair. And in the world, we are often told it is. We are also told we have the right to retaliate. But the Word says otherwise! In Matthew 5:44 Jesus tells us to “Love your enemies and pray for those that persecute you.”
The key to this is changing the way we think about people. Jesus modeled how to do this when he went to the cross. I think it is safe to say that Jesus was not happy with those who were beating him and putting Him on the cross. But we know that He Loved them and prayed and asked God to forgive them for what they were doing. He even forgave one of the criminals who repented on the cross who had been verbally abusing Him! Jesus thought differently when faced with people who hurt Him.
I don’t believe Jesus saw evil people when looking at His enemies or those who hurt him. I think He saw God’s children who were misled by the enemy and suffering from hurts and offense. People lash out due to wounds and believing lies, not from being evil. (I don’t believe God created people to be evil) In Freedom ministry, we have a saying: “Hurt People Hurt People.” Jesus realized this concept and responded to “enemies” with grace and love by seeing them as hurting brothers and sisters. He looked past the offense, hurt, words, anger, etc, and saw the person God created.
We need to understand that God created all people to be good. It is their choice to walk in that goodness; we have no control over their choices. We can only control ours.
We can choose to do as Jesus did, look at others as children of God, and not take offense when the opportunity to do so arises. We can realize they are operating out of their issues and not out of the heart God gave them. We can respond gracefully and “turn the other cheek.” The reward is worth it!
“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.” Philippians 2:3
Don’t forget to invite God into your day!
Ephesians 4:7
1 Peter 4:10
Ephesians 2:8-9