“Jesus did not commit Himself to them…, for He knew what was in man …” — John 2:24-25
“Many of the things in life that inflict
the greatest injury, grief, or pain, stem from the fact that we suffer from
illusions. … if we love someone, but do not love God, we demand total
perfection and righteousness from that person … we are demanding of a human
being something which he or she cannot possibly give. … Our Lord trusted no
one, and never placed His faith in people, yet He was never suspicious or
bitter. Our Lord’s confidence in God, and in what God’s grace could do for
anyone, was so perfect that He never despaired, never giving up hope for any
person. If our trust is placed in human beings, we will end up despairing of
everyone.” OSWALD CHAMBERS
Has anyone ever disappointed you? How
does that make you feel? Do you lose
hope for them? Have you lost hope for them? Have you given up on them? It is really pretty easy to do. I think most people have a category that they
put others in called “They are never going to change.” In a way, we are correct. They can’t change without help. Not our help.
God’s help. Just like He changed
you and me … who were never going to change either. Now the tricky part is that some think that
if I am to think differently about that person, I must accept, embrace, the
things they do and the life they live.
Not so! But, at the same time, when you cast them off as “unchangeable”
you have judged them and condemned them to Hell. Perhaps because of what they have done to you
or someone else, perhaps that is your unspoken hope for them. I know people in my life that I have done
this to. (This is very convicting as I
type these words.) Listen, God is in the
business of saving us from Hell and transforming us to the image of His Son
through faith. Remember the parable of
the unforgiving servant? (Matthew 18:21-35) Think about these verses in terms
of the people in your life that you have relegated to “They are never going to
change”.
(John 3:16) “For God so loved the
world” That is pretty inclusive .. doesn’t leave anyone out including the
ones that we think will never change.
(Romans 5:8) “But God demonstrates His
own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” God did not demand that we do something that
we were incapable of doing, and yet He did not, could not, would not embrace us
until we placed our faith in His Son.
The second greatest commandment is to
love people (Matthew 22:39). Don’t give
up on those “Never Changers”, pray for them.
Change your attitude toward them.
You can’t you say? Of course you can’t, you need God’s help to do
that. What you are trying do in the flesh
you can only do in the Spirit. It is a
supernatural act to do what Jesus did.
We need to see others just like Jesus did. Even while on the Cross, Jesus asked the
Father to forgive the very people that rejected Him and killed Him. There is no way that we can love people like
that on our own.
“There is no fear in love. But perfect
love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears
is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims
to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love
their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have
not seen.” – 1 John 4:18-20
Believe it – walk in it. Let your light shine and
give God the glory.
By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His
Glory Alone
No comments:
Post a Comment