A sinner saved by the grace of God given to those with faith in the crucified and risen Jesus Christ. Period.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
"Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you"
A great story from John H. Armstrong's Your Church is Too Small: Why Unity in Christ's Mission is Vital to the Future of the Church:
Some years ago, a friend shared a story about harsh attacks on Dr. Billy Graham in his early days of ministry. Many of these attacks came from former friends. His goal was to bless those Christians who attacked him. On one significant occasion, a major leader violated the work of Dr. Graham in a way that was particularly egregious. Dr. Graham hastily called a board meeting. He made it clear that there would be no counterattack. The board then prayed for the other minister and the issue was dropped.
May I learn the lesson of this story showing a faithful Christian applying Jesus' words in Luke 6:28:
"Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you."
The Armstrong book is an important one, the truths of which I have been soaking up for several months now.
This is a hard lesson to learn. The immediate pay-off of sticking it to someone who has wronged you is hard to pass up, especially when you realize that your act of restraint/forward looking may never make a visible impact.
2 comments:
This is a hard lesson to learn. The immediate pay-off of sticking it to someone who has wronged you is hard to pass up, especially when you realize that your act of restraint/forward looking may never make a visible impact.
Tough stuff.
Very tough stuff!
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