I tell you not to resist an
evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him
also. —Matthew 5:39
“This verse reveals the
humiliation of being a Christian. In the natural realm, if a person does not
hit back, it is because he is a coward. But in the spiritual realm, it is the
very evidence of the Son of God in him if he does not hit back. When you are insulted,
you must not only not resent it, but you must make it an opportunity to exhibit
the Son of God in your life. And you cannot imitate the nature of Jesus— it is
either in you or it is not. […] It is not your duty to go the second mile, or
to turn the other cheek, but Jesus said that if we are His disciples, we will
always do these things. […] A disciple realizes that it is his Lord’s honor
that is at stake in his life, not his own honor. Never look for righteousness
in the other person, but never cease to be righteous yourself. We are always
looking for justice, yet the essence of the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount
is— Never look for justice, but never cease to give it.” CHAMBERS
(Isaiah 55:8-9) “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are
your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” When I think of this verse and Matthew 5:38-45 and the truth you find
in them, my mind goes back to the Western movie where the religious man, who
doesn’t wear a gun, is being taunted by a group of “bad” men and told to pick
the gun up that is laying on the ground.
The men laugh and mock as the man refuses to yield. They see him as weak and a coward when in
fact there is great power than what is being expressed in his refusal.
He is not afraid at all. He is meek, like Jesus. Meekness is not weakness, it is bridled strength.
Do you want to reflect Jesus in your
life? Do you accept that Jesus was
shamed and crucified, and yet hate the thought of someone treating you poorly
and you not retaliating? This is a hard
teaching. Virtually impossible without
the power of the Spirit in you and you in full submission to His leading. This is not about you remaining silent and
harboring resentment toward the offender.
But remaining silent and saying to the Father, “Forgive them because they
do not know what they are doing.” They
are ignorant, blind and hell bound.
Behaving in such a way with
Spiritual sincerity requires that you be fully trusting in the Lord. It cannot be feigned. Your proper response to life brings glory to
the Father. Your feigned response to others,
something done by the exercising of your own will, has no spiritual power and is
hypocritical. And you know what Jesus had to say about that. So if you are thinking, I could never do
that, you are absolutely correct. Your flesh
always demands its rights and justice. The
Spiritual demands that you exercise grace and mercy. "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13) CHARLEY
No comments:
Post a Comment