Have you ever noticed that people tend to wear their feelings on their sleeves? I have to admit that I am that way all too often. There are times, I am sorry to say, that all it takes is the least little thing to offend me, to hurt my feelings. Poor little me, I'm so mistreated, so misunderstood. It's almost like we're just waiting to catch someone else transgressing on our selfish little kingdom, and then we are proved right for thinking evil thoughts concerning them. You know that it is really stupid and self-defeating to be this way, because in those times we are most miserable.
When we blow it, we judge ourselves kindly by our good intentions. When others blow it, we mercilessly judge them by their performance. Once we have decided to put someone on our bad list, we will invariably find lots of things against them. This is a self-perpetuating activity. We mistakenly think that somehow if we can find enough faults in others, we can raise our own self- esteem. This is what causes families to break down, factions to develop in our workplace, strife to invade even our churches. Any time folks spend lots of time together, there are opportunities for frictions to develop, for offenses to come.
The Bible says that love is not touchy, and does not take into account a wrong suffered. It does not insist on its own rights, it is not self-seeking, it is not overly sensitive or fretful or resentful. It does not rejoice at injustice but rejoices when right and truth prevail. It is not glad to find out bad things about others, but chooses to believe the best about people.
The Bible says that God has reconciled us to Himself by sending Jesus Christ to be an offering for our sins, and that He is not counting our trespasses against us. God is not counting. God is not touchy and resentful. Even when we ignore Him or treat Him like dirt or malign His name, He has made a decision once and for all that He will not take offense. Jesus said that offenses are bound to come, but we are not to allow them to stick. When He, the kindest, the most righteous, the most loving Person that has ever lived, was being nailed to a tree, He looked down at the men who were crucifying him and, in His agony, said, "Forgive them, Father. Don't hold this against them, for they do not know what they are doing."
That is the power of the God-kind-of-love. Where do we get that kind of power? Where do we get the power to rise up and live life above offenses, touchiness, and self-centeredness? I believe that we get that power when we live in a vital relationship with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and become filled with His Spirit. It comes when we reach the end of ourselves, when we realize that we have been wrong, and fall humbly on His mercy and ask for His forgiveness. It comes when we have died to ourselves, and Christ lives within us by faith. It comes when, being His sons and daughters, we are more conscious of how precious we are in His sight than of how others regard us. The God-kind-of-love is supernatural, not a natural human attribute, and comes only through the regenerating power of authentic Christianity, and no other way. It will come to you today, not by good intentions, but by transforming grace.
@ copyright 1998 by Scott H. Northrup. All rights reserved.