DAILY BREAD: EVER FELT LIKE A STRANGER AMONG YOUR PEOPLE?

February 3, 2014

…pray for those who mistreat you.” – Luke 6:28b

I sometimes wonder what Jesus thinks of “Christians” these days. The word “Christians” I have heard means “Christ-Like” but most times, our experiences of the people we called family in the body of Christ can shocked us.

On the flip side, one needs to examine himself too. Perhaps the problem is not with the body of Christ but with you. Maybe you are not giving enough, maybe you are too conceited about your beliefs, maybe your principles are too stringent, maybe you need to bend more.

Whichever it is, love is not earned, it is a conscious effort at giving irrespective of what you get in return. If love is what binds us together, what I give should be enough as long as I gave it with my whole heart. And how you treat me afterwards shouldn’t be my criteria for holding back my love.

Jesus fed a crowd of 5,000 people, you don’t think some of the people in that crowd where part of the people that later screamed “crucify Him”?

It is maturity as a Christian to be able to depend on God. It is also a level of maturity to lean on a Christian brother or sister yet be cautious as Jesus was with his disciples. We are called to love and that includes those who hurt you.

We must love the way Christ love the church and gave himself for it.