“Since Christ suffered and underwent pain, you must have the same attitude he did; you must be ready to suffer, too. For remember, when your body suffers, sin loses its power.”
1 Peter 4:1 (TLB) When you’re in pain, who’s the person you’re thinking of the most? You! It’s your nature to be self-centered—because you’re human. When you’re suffering, you want to be comforted. When you’re sick, you want to be cared for. When you’re sad, you want to be held. Pain makes you self-centered. But God says, if you’re going to learn how to love like he does, you’ve got to try to see other people’s pain, even when you’re in pain. Jesus is our greatest example of this. When he was hanging on the cross, he was in enormous physical, emotional, and spiritual pain. He was carrying all the sin of the world! But in his dying moments, he noticed the pain of other people. He prayed, “Father forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing” (Luke 23:34 GW). And he said to the guy next to him, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43 GW). He also made sure his mother would be cared for. He wasn’t thinking about himself, even when he was in agony. God’s Word says to have the same attitude as Jesus (Philippians 2:5). That means, when you’re in pain, you should look around and see who else is in pain. You should think of others, even as you care for yourself. That’s a hard one. How do you look at the pain of others when you’re in pain? “Since Christ suffered and underwent pain, you must have the same attitude he did; you must be ready to suffer, too. For remember, when your body suffers, sin loses its power” (1 Peter 4:1 TLB). With God’s grace, you can look past your own pain. And when you do, sin loses its power and you become more like Jesus. God can use your pain, too, to help others struggling with the same pain.
0 Comments
“What we mean is that God was in Christ, offering peace and forgiveness to the people of this world. And he has given us the work of sharing his message about peace.”
2 Corinthians 5:19 (CEV) In January 1956, five American missionaries headed to the rainforest of the eastern Amazon in Ecuador. They were making a second visit to the Huaorani tribe, which anthropologists said was the most vicious, violent society on the face of the Earth. They had a culture of killing, and studies showed 60 percent of the tribe died by homicide. As soon as the missionaries got out of the plane, they were speared to death by members of the tribe. The brutal murders made news around the world and were on the covers of Life magazine, Time, and Newsweek. Many newspapers reported the deaths of these men, who included Nate Saint and Jim Elliot. A couple years later, Elisabeth and Valerie Elliot, wife and daughter of Jim, and Rachel Saint, sister of Nate, moved into the Huaorani village to show love and forgiveness and minister to the people who had killed their families. Eventually, Mincaye, who was the leader of the tribe, and other men who participated in the missionary murders became Christians. The kind of forgiveness Elisabeth Elliot, Valerie Elliot, and Rachel Saint modeled doesn’t make sense until you have been forgiven by God. So, once you’ve experienced God’s forgiveness, how do you forgive? You do the four things these women did: Relinquish your right to get even. Romans 12:19 says, “Don’t try to get even. Let God take revenge” (CEV). Leave it up to God. He’ll take care of it, and he’ll do a much better job than you ever could. Respond to evil with good. How can you tell when you’ve completely forgiven someone? You can actually pray for God to bless the person who hurt you. The Bible says. “Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-28 NIV). Repeat these steps as long as necessary. Peter asked Jesus in Matthew 18:21, “How many times should I forgive someone who does something wrong to me? Is seven times enough?” (CEV). Jesus replied, “Not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!” (Matthew 18:22 CEV). Sometimes forgiveness has to be continual. Rescue others with the Good News of God’s forgiveness. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:18-20, “God has done it all! He sent Christ to make peace between himself and us, and he has given us the work of making peace between himself and others. What we mean is that God was in Christ, offering peace and forgiveness to the people of this world. And he has given us the work of sharing his message about peace. We were sent to speak for Christ, and God is begging you to listen to our message. We speak for Christ and sincerely ask you to make peace with God.” Because you’ve been forgiven by God, he expects you to forgive other people. He will help you work through your hurt and give you the grace to forgive those who’ve hurt you. “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:32 (NIV) You will, unfortunately, be hurt in this life. And many of those hurts will be intentional—the direct results of what people say about you or do to you. In fact, any time you read the word “forgiveness,” you likely instantly call to mind certain heartaches, hurts, and problems from your past. The memories still feel fresh because you’ve been hurt very deeply. When you’re hurt deeply, it’s often hard to consider forgiving the perpetrators. But the Bible gives you one very important reason you need to forgive. You forgive others because God forgave you. The Bible says in Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (NIV). Thinking about how much God has forgiven you will help you be more forgiving of those who have hurt you. The opposite is also true. If you don’t believe and accept in faith that you’ve been forgiven by God, you’ll likely have a hard time forgiving others. If that’s the case, consider whether you truly believe God has forgiven you. Talk to God about any doubts. Think of it like this: God has completely wiped your slate clean of sin because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross. All of the things you deserve to be punished for have been cleared away because God has forgiven you. As you accept this truth, you’ll find it increasingly tough to hold a grudge against someone else. No matter what anyone does to you, you’ll never have to forgive another person more than God has already forgiven you. And he has forgiven you. That’s a promise. |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
All
Archives
July 2024
|