When Someone Offends You Are You Stirred Up To Show Them Jesus . .Or Just Stirred Up?

My Utmost For His Highest

Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together… —Hebrews 10:24-25

{CHAMBERS} “We are all capable of being spiritually lazy saints. We want to stay off the rough roads of life, and our primary objective is to secure a peaceful retreat from the world. The ideas put forth in these verses from Hebrews 10 are those of stirring up one another and of keeping ourselves together. Both of these require initiative— our willingness to take the first step toward Christ-realization, not the initiative toward self-realization. To live a distant, withdrawn, and secluded life is diametrically opposed to spirituality as Jesus Christ taught it. The true test of our spirituality occurs when we come up against injustice, degradation, ingratitude, and turmoil, all of which have the tendency to make us spiritually lazy. […] The real danger in spiritual laziness is that we do not want to be stirred up— all we want to hear about is a spiritual retirement from the world. Yet Jesus Christ never encourages the idea of retirement— He says, “Go and tell My brethren…” (Matthew 28:10).”

{ELGIN}  I find it amazing how we can live two distinctly different realities.  The one reality is that I am a Christian and I love the Lord.  All is well with me and the world.  That is until someone offends us.  Then we walk in the “other” reality.  That is the reality of indignation, vindictiveness and resentment.  The thing is we can switch between these two realities like we were using a light switch.  The fact is, that God sees our hearts and He knows our hearts are divided. (James 1:5-8) “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.  For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”  We think we have it together spiritually, but our faith is weak .. in our heart we doubt.  We still rely on our old nature .. and we know that there is nothing good in it .. but it drives us all the same. 

Switch on .. switch off.  It seems crazy.  For many if you tell them they are doing it they don’t believe you.  They are not strong enough spiritually speaking to see the difference.  And lest you think that older saints are free from that craziness .. think again.  You are only one unguarded thought away.  Love must prevail and that love comes by faith and submission to the Spirit. ( 1 Corinthians 13:4-7) “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,  does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”  Which reality do you spend most of your time in?