1 Peter 3:9
Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t snap
back at those who say unkind things about you. Instead, pray for God’s
help for them, for we are to be kind to others, and God will bless us
for it.
The Living
Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission
of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All
rights reserved.
When
I was little, I’m pretty sure that adults sugar-coated the story of the
crucifixion for me. I knew that Jesus loved me, but I had no idea how
greatly He suffered for my sins. Today, our children are subjected to
so much violence in movies - and the media in general - that they are
(sadly) accustomed to seeing horrific scenes of people being maimed and
mutilated. So when Timothy and Nathan asked me about the crucifixion and
“What happened to Jesus?” I told them, “Soldiers nailed his hands and
feet to the cross.”
Seven-year-old Timothy asked, “Did they
stab Him?” Well…yes. “Did they beat Him up?” “Yes, they did that,
too.” This is when the boys began their dialog about how they
would beat up those horrible people who did this to their Jesus. And as
I noted in yesterday’s devotional message, we had to have a talk about
forgiveness and how Jesus would not want us to retaliate for Him.
Timothy,
Zola, and Nathan see very little television news. And I am honestly
glad of that. I don’t want them hearing how people talk to one
another…the horrible name calling that is going on publicly between
people running for the highest offices of our nation. It is very hard
to tell children not to say unkind things about each other when all they
have to do is turn on the TV and hear adults doing this ad nauseam.
And maybe someone has said something unkind toward you – or about
you…and you have a personal experience (if not actual familiarity) with
the desire to retaliate and “set him/her straight.”
I am glad
that God gave me this scripture passage today. Now I have a good
“solution” for the boys. I will suggest that they pray for those who
hurt others…especially those who hurt Jesus. We cannot turn back the
clock and change what happened on Calvary that day (and we wouldn’t want
to do this!)…but we can pray for those who offend or insult us – and
Jesus – today. We can be kind to those who are unkind to us. We don’t
have to be “doormats” and let others walk all over us…but we don’t have
to lower ourselves to that level, either.
I’ll be honest…there
are a few people who have insulted or offended me, and my solution has
been to pretty well ignore them. This isn’t right, either. I don’t
have to make them my new best friends…but I need to make an effort to be
kind to them. To do otherwise indicates that when we offend or insult
Jesus, He turns His back on us…and that is simply NOT the case!
It
is time to treat others as Jesus taught us…and as He treats us. If we
are going to be His disciples and represent Him on this earth, we have
to emulate Him. And that means operating in forgiveness, grace and
mercy…to all people at all times. How are you doing these days?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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