Category: Recovered Blogs

Loneliness or Solitude

Much has been said and written in the last few years regarding the concept of “community” in the family of believers. I do not disagree with the principle involved. We need community, fellowship, and to each use our God-given gifts as parts of the whole that makes up the body of Christ.

Somehow, that teaching seems to overlook the fact that for whatever reason some do not have a community. Some are serving where they do not have access to other believers. There are those who in answering the call of God, or for refusing to compromise their convictions for companionship, feel very alone.

Certainly if at all possible, one should seek out other believers as Hebrews 10:24-25(ESV) states, “24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another”.

In the mean time, while you are searching, here are some suggestions to redeem the time of loneliness.

First, turn your moments of aloneness into a garden of solitude. Let God redeem your alone time as an opportunity to focus on and fellowship with Him. Henri Nouwen suggests,

“To live a spiritual life we must first find the courage to enter into the desert of our loneliness and to change it by gentle and persistent efforts into a garden of solitude. This requires not only courage but also a strong faith.”[i]

The following is an old German Hymn that expresses this so well.

The Paradise of God

Where the heart of God is resting,

I have found my rest;

Christ who found me in the desert,

Laid me on His breast.

There in deep unhindered fullness

Doth my joy flow free—

On through everlasting ages,

Lord, beholding Thee.

There I find a blessed stillness

In His courts of love;

All below but strife and darkness,

Cloudless peace above.

‘Tis a solitary pathway

To that fair retreat—

Where in deep and sweet communion

Sit I at His feet.

In that glorious isolation,

Loneliness how blest,

From the windy storm and tempest

Have I found my rest.

Learning from Thy lips for ever

All the Father’s heart,

Thou hast, in that joy eternal,

Chosen me my part.

There, where Jesus, Jesus only,

Fills each heart and tongue,

Where Himself is all the radiance

And Himself the song.

Here, who follows Him the nearest,

Needs must walk alone;

There like many seas the chorus,

Praise surrounds the throne.

Here a dark and silent pathway;

In those courts so fair

Countless hosts, yet each beholding

Jesus only, there.

By T. P., (this was all that was listed for the author)

Second, realize that ultimately no one will be able to meet your deep emotional needs fully except the One who made you. Trying to meet those needs through another person leads to a grasping type of neediness. Nouwen says,

“No friend or lover, no husband or wife, no community or commune will be able to put to rest our deepest cravings for unity and wholeness. And by burdening others with these divine expectations, of which we ourselves are only partially aware, we might inhibit the expression of free friendship and love and evoke instead feelings of inadequacy and weakness.”[ii]

Christian writer Beth Moore puts it this way, “God is the only One who is not repelled by the depth and length or our needs”.[iii]

Thirdly, truly realize that you are never alone if you are in relationship with God. Hebrews 13:5, “I will never leave you nor forsake you”.

The following is a quote by Elisabeth Elliot relating a thought by Amy Carmichael; both women were well acquainted with loneliness.

“Some of you are perhaps feeling that you are voyaging just now on a moonless sea. Uncertainty surrounds you. There seem to be no signs to follow. Perhaps you feel about to be engulfed by loneliness. There is no one to whom you can speak of your need. Amy Carmichael wrote of such a feeling when, a missionary of 26 (she had to leave where she was and travel to another country). “All along, let us remember, we are not asked to understand, but simply to obey…On July 28, I sailed and as the boat containing my friends moved off from the ship, a chill of loneliness shivered through me. Then like a warm love-clasp came the long-loved lines- ‘And only Heaven is better that to walk with Christ at midnight, over moon-less seas.’ I couldn’t be frightened then. Praise him for the moonless seas- all the better opportunity for proving Him to be indeed the El Shaddai, ‘the God who is Enough.’”

Elisabeth goes on to say, “Let me add my own word of witness to hers and to that of the tens of thousands who have learned that He is indeed Enough. He is not all we would ask for (If we were honest), but it is precisely when we do not have what we would ask for, and only then, that we can perceive His all –sufficiency. It is when the sea is moonless that the Lord has become my Light.”[iv]

God please help me find “Enough” in You today!

[i] Nouwen, Henri J. M. Reaching Out. New York: Doubleday, 1975.

[ii] Ibid.

[iii] Moore, Beth. Breaking Free Updated Edition. Nashville : LifeWay Press, 2009.

[iv] Elliot, Elisabeth. Keep a quiet heart. Manila: OMF Literature Inc., 1995.

Beauty – Does it matter?

Recently my boys, 15 and 17 years old, and I went to see the movie Monument Men. It sparked an interesting debate, which is the only form of communication acceptable to these particular teenage male siblings, regarding whether or not Art is worth someone’s life. Ideas being proposed were as follows:

Art is often symbolic of greater meaning. Much of the art that was being saved in this film was religiously themed, as well as being of great importance to the cultural identity of the people where it was located. They were attempting to preserve someone’s national treasures.

If those who were part of the unit believed that what they were preserving was worth their life, perhaps it was, at least to them.

The opposing position stated that no mere object was worth the sacrifice of a human’s life. Negating any deeper significance, these works of art may contain or inspire.

I always feel moved by the following song by Sara Groves

Why It Matters

Sit with me and tell me once again
Of the story that’s been told us
Of the power that will hold us
Of the beauty, of the beauty
Why it matters

Speak to me until I understand
Why our thinking and creating
Why our efforts of narrating
About the beauty, of the beauty
And why it matters

Surely, when we look at the natural world around us; we understand that beauty matters to our creative God. Not once – but twice, when God gave instructions for the temple he gave an amazing anointing.

Exodus 31:3-5(ESV) and repeated again in Exodus 35:31

3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, 4 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, 5 in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft.

The Spirit of God was given for the express purpose of enabling the workmen to devise artistically what God was imaging perfectly. 

Artistic expressions of devotion were affirmed by Jesus, when he rebuked those who criticized the woman who anointed Him as an expression of her love.

6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.

He does not call it worthwhile, noble, acceptable, and appropriate or any other uptight word; He just calls it a “beautiful thing”. Such artistic words…

The ultimate expression of all that is beautiful comes in the description of the New Jerusalem given in Revelations 21. The writer of Hebrews 11:10 said that Abraham was looking forward to this city whose “designer and builder is God”. He knows how to do it right! 

Watching the news the last few weeks from Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, Thailand and the CAR, has brought the last verses of Sara Groves song to mind.

Like the statue in the park
Of this war torn town
And it’s protest of the darkness
And the chaos all around
With its beauty, how it matters
How it matters

Show me the love that never fails
The compassion and attention
Midst confusion and dissention
Like small ramparts for the soul
How it matters

Like a single cup of water
How it matters

Our world so desperately needs the beauty of the love of God! However, we express that beauty, whether by creating the statue or giving the cup of water; it matters!

The Author is Present

Even in the very limited capacity in which I am writer, I find it incredibly frustrating how difficult it is to communicate ideas effectively. Often I long for the ability to represent with greater clarity the thoughts God has laid on my heart. Author Annie Dillard says, “The written word is weak. Many people prefer life to it. Life gets your blood going…Writing is mere writing…It appeals only to the subtlest senses- the imagination’s vision, the imagination’s hearing- and the moral sense, and the intellect. The writing that you do…is barely audible to anyone else.” [1]

It is like a two year old attempting to describe the magnitude of Niagara Falls, or an artist who can never quite reveal visibly the image that rests in her imagination. If only I could say it like I feel it, or better yet sit down with you and explain what I mean. Even then, I fear the words to illustrate the intricacies of the message would fail me. What I can give is only a pale fragment, like a corner torn from one of the multitudinous journals I have scribbled in for a lifetime.

Since the notes that I pass on are filtered through such a limited scribe, let me recommend that you go to the source yourself. John 16:13-14 (ESV) states,

13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Henry Blackaby describes it as follows:

Because you have the Holy Spirit, He guides you into all truth and teaches you all things. You understand spiritual truth because the Holy Spirit works in your life. You cannot understand God’s Word unless the Spirit of God teaches you. When you read the Word, the Author Himself is present to instruct you. Truth is never discovered, truth is revealed. When the Holy Spirit reveals truth to you, He is not leading you to an encounter with God. That is the encounter with God![2]

How incredible it is to have the Author present to instruct you! He sits down with you to explain what you need to know about God. What is wrong if that is not our experience that when we read the Scriptures? Perhaps we have never turned from our sins and invited the Holy Spirit to dwell within and guide us.

1 Corinthians 2:14-15 states, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

Maybe you need to meet the author…

Hebrews 5:9 Amplified Bible

9 And, [His completed experience] making Him perfectly [equipped], He became the Author and Source of eternal salvation to all those who give heed and obey Him,

[1]

Dillard, Annie. The Writing Life. New York: Harper Perennial, 1989.

[2]

Blackaby, Henry, Richard Blackaby and Claude King. Experiencing God. Nashville: Lifeway Press, 2007.

I am not a good parent

     I am actually not a very good parent. There, I confessed it. I said it out in the open for the entire world to hear. My husband is the education commissioner over our denominations colleges, seminaries etc. in Asia. He has a grueling travel schedule and so is seldom home. For the past five years, living overseas I have been in the unique position of being a married single parent to two teenage boys. Beyond the obvious challenges of being a mother and raising boys, the fact is that I have never enjoyed the hard work of character formation.

     You know, all that discipline, correction, reproving, I just wanted them to want to do the right thing without my having to make them. Yes, I understand fallen human nature and the need to instill morals, righteousness, and obedience to God’s commands. I know a child with no boundaries will go up selfish, entitled, and spoiled. However, my intense dislike of being the boundary police has caused my lines to waver and be inconsistent more often than not. I pray God will have mercy and fill the many gaps I left with His grace.

     Now that I have two adult children out on their own, and hopefully another soon to leave the nest; I find my relationship to them much more relaxed. Now that I do not feel compelled to “fix” them, I can enjoy just knowing them. I would so much rather discuss writing and literature with my oldest, enjoy arts and crafts with my second, discuss world politics and social causes with my third, and share music with my youngest; than I would force them to eat right, be polite, do their homework and go to bed on time!

Having spent all my parenting years struggling to find the proper balance between mercy and punishment, I was intrigued recently by this quote from John Stott,

“All parents know the costliness of love, and what it means to be torn apart by conflicting emotions, especially when there is a need to punish the children. Perhaps the boldest of all human models of God in the Scripture is the pain of parenthood which is attributed to him in Hosea, chapter 11.” [i]

In Hosea God speaks of his relationship with his children like a parent.

  11 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
    and out of Egypt I called my son…
3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk;
    I took them up by their arms,
    but they did not know that I healed them.
4 I led them with cords of kindness,
    with the bands of love,
and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,
    and I bent down to them and fed them.

He then describes their incredible rebellion and disobedience.

“They have refused to return to me”; “My people are bent on turning away from me.” “Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit,”

God knows they deserve only judgment, but the father heart of God cries out,

“8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
    How can I hand you over, O Israel?
    …My heart recoils within me;
    my compassion grows warm and tender.”

      So I wondered, does God ever long to get beyond the continual discipline, need for constant correction phase of relationship with us? John 15:14 seems to indicate that He does.

“14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.” God as a good parent wants all that he teaches us to become so ingrained in us that it is obvious that He put his law within us, and wrote it on our hearts. (Jeremiah 31:33) It is this internalization of values, which we all long to see in our own children.

     When we love Him, we desire to please Him and do what He commands, and then the best part happens; He starts calling us friends. No longer needing the constant rebuke and correction of children, but having such a desire for unbroken fellowship that we follow His commands so that we do not hurt our friend.

I love being friends with my children! While I realize that I will never get beyond the need for correction from the Father in heaven, I am longing for more moments of sharing friendship.

[i]

Stott, John. The Cross of Christ. 20th anniversary edition. Nottingham: Intervarsity Press, 1986,2006.

I thought I knew the story…


Growing up in a Christian home, school, Bible college, I am constantly amazed that God can continue to teach me from stories I have heard all my life.  Surely, I could not learn something new from the story of Daniel and the lion’s den. Why have I never realized this before? The speaker in the church we attend pointed out that Daniel was obeying a command of God given to Jeremiah the prophet when he prayed. The command was given in Jeremiah 29:4-7,

4 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce…. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

It has been a while since I brushed up on OT prophetical literature, but it is there in Daniel 9:1-2,

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.

So yes, it is quite possible that Daniel read and followed the words of Jeremiah to seek the welfare of the city where he was exiled, and that is what he was praying for when he prayed three times a day. 

Feeling only a very small measure of what it is like to live far away from one’s homeland, compare expat to exile, I am convicted that I do not pray for the welfare of the city-state where I live.

However, that was not all I learned. In Daniel chapter 6, the story of the lion’s den, Daniel is shown following his custom of prayer, thanksgiving, petition, and plea (ESV). Yet not once does he receive any reassurance or promise from God- no answer- until he is already face-down in the dust at the bottom of the den and with roaring lions licking their chops over his head. In fact, I think he did not even have an opportunity to apply these “helpful” strategies, and probably was curled up in a fetal position waiting for the fangs until the room started to glow and the guy with wings carrying lion-sized, extra strength, duct tape showed up!

Somehow, Daniel did not need the constant reassurance I seem to demand from God. He knew he would probably die since there was no indication that God promised him deliverance. He just kept on with his normal life of devotion, which may even have included praying for the welfare of the city whose officials were trying to kill him. All day long, he may have waited for the foolishly arrogant, now repentant king to find a loophole in the law. No messenger came with assurance from God he would be delivered, no last minute reprieve arrived, and yet the king gives the greatest testimony, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” Whether as the highest counselor in the land, or the man condemned to be torn apart by lions, with no assurance of heavenly intervention he continued to serve.

Wow! Maybe I need to go back to Sunday School…

Perfectionism, Martha, and Grace

I do not generally have to force myself to write something. However, God has been showing me something lately that I feel the need to share, and it is a bit tough. I know some of you who have known me for years will find this confession a no-brainer, but I find myself suddenly realizing I am a perfectionist. I know…I never could break rules, felt guilty over everything, have lived my entire life trying to dot all the i’s and to cross all the t’s. I just thought since I was not OCD about keeping my house clean; I really was not a perfectionist! 

Perfectionism has been defined as follows, “a constant and all- pervading feel of never quite measuring up, never quite being or doing enough to please. To please whom? Everyone-yourself, others, and God. Naturally, a lot of self-belittling and self-contempt goes along with it, together with a super sensitivity to the opinions, to the approval, and the disapproval of others. And all of this is accompanied by a cloud of guilt. The perfectionist almost has to feel guilty, if for nothing else, not feeling guilty about something!”[1]

Ok…yeah, that probably describes me. So how did I get this way? My parents were not the sort who held up unrealistic expectations for us. Yes, we grew up in a rather rigid religious era of external conformity to standards of dress and behavior, but I do not think that was it either. I wonder if perhaps I was looking for a way to be noticed among my crowd of siblings, and since “sainthood” was the only role no one else was willing to try, I tried that. We had the explorer, commander, rebel, clown, cutie, baby etc. If I could just be “good”, enough God would be happy with me.

What God has been showing me is that God has amazing grace! Not just grace that reaches to lift those who have fallen into pits of sin and depravity, but also grace enough to cover those who, no matter what they do, will never in their own eyes be good enough. “Grace is not only God’s undeserved mercy and favor. It is also unearned and can never be repaid.” It is simple really; apart From Him, I can do nothing, really nothing- all my righteousness is filthy rags- and all my attempts will fall short. Not because God is unrealistic and demanding but because He wants me to know Him, depend on Him, live in and through Him only. On my own, I am a Martha, Luke 10:40-42, trying desperately to please Him- frustrating myself and getting frustrated with everyone around me. I become a “grievance collector”. 

Throughout my walk with God, I have had my Mary moments of living in connected devotion to Him. Apparently, it is a choice we get to make, Mary had chosen the better part, and by His amazing grace, so can I!

[1]

Seamands, David A. Healing for Damaged Emotions. Colorado Springs: Cook Communications, 2004. ffff

Togetherness!

In a wonderful old romantic comedy called How to Steal a Million, featuring the recently deceased Peter O’Toole and Audrey Hepburn; the hero states, “the code word is togetherness!”

That thought has been on my mind all this holiday season; not just because we have guests who are brave enough to cram into our little apartment here for a visit, but also because having family here is what makes it Christmas for me. My love language is time spent together. So even though fixing Christmas dinner is an exercise in juggling and gymnastics in my miniscule kitchen, the fact that I was fixing it with my daughter’s help made it a meaningful memory for me.

God was in favor of togetherness. He sent us at Christmas, Emmanuel, God with us. I want to remember that this year, no matter how cramped and uncomfortable my circumstances; He is with me. That means love to me! The God who so wanted to be close to us that He sent His spirit to live within us said,

John 14:16-20 (ESV)

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

That is what I call TOGETHERNESS!

Merry Christmas everyone! May you come to know Emmanuel; remember the code word is togetherness!

For Women Only!

Anytime you title something like this, some men cannot resist reading. You know who you are- now go away; you will just be bored and disrupt the class!

There are many places in the world where women are still oppressed and marginalized if not blatantly abused. I was reminded this week as I read the Christmas story how different it is with God. God understands women and their needs. This is apparent from the moment Gabriel announced the birth of Christ to Mary and throughout the life and ministry of Jesus. In particular, I was impressed as I read Gabriel’s announcement that God understood Mary needed a friend. Joseph would need divine intervention before he could overcome his male ego and wounded pride; he certainly was not in a place where he could be supportive. He may have even been worried about her sanity with all the talk of angel visitations, thinking, “You know, maybe I should just have her ‘put away’.”

What is a girl to do?  Gabriel gave her a hint…Elizabeth understands that nothing is impossible with God; she is also going through a divine moment in her life. That was all the encouragement Mary needed. Yes, Elizabeth was family, but God was also preparing her to be the friend Mary would need.

What made Elizabeth the perfect example of whom to turn to in a crisis?

Several things are apparent in the scripture. She was “6 righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord”. (Luke 1 ESV) We need to know that our friend is in touch with God and able to give Godly counsel.

She also had held on to her faith in spite of a great trial in her life. Her faith in God had been tested by years of infertility. “7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.” Hers was a tested mature faith that had held on to God even though she had not received what she so desperately wanted. She must have loved God for Himself and not for what she could get from Him. A friend who will help you to remain strong in faith is invaluable.

She knew how to keep a secret, even one that overwhelmed her with wonder and joy. “24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me to take away my reproach among people.” We all need another woman we can trust with our burdens, secrets, even our shame.

God even gave Elizabeth confirmation that Mary’s child was of God. What a tremendous gift that was to Mary! Then Elizabeth could give Mary her full support with no small doubt in her mind.  Mary desperately needed someone who would believe her, and believe in her. “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” What strength it must have given Mary to know that Elizabeth believed she could be the mother of the “Lord”.

Elizabeth was not swayed from her commitment to the word of God by public opinion; as when she refused to give in to pressure when it came time to name John. “59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” Who better to stand with Mary against the pressure she would face, then someone who could truly believe the confirmation God gave her? 

For three months, you know those first three months when morning sickness makes you think you are going to die, Mary was in a safe place. She was cared for and caring for someone who understood. What a gift from the God who understands what a woman needs!

Do you need an Elizabeth in your life? Ask God to give you a suggestion, like Gabriel did for Mary.

Taking Offense

What does it mean to take offense? Various online dictionaries define it as follows:

 To feel (and usually to show) emotional pain and resentment at another’s actions or words.

Confession time, I recently took offense when someone’s behavior triggered some painful memories for me. How could he act that way? He seemed to be intentionally inflicting emotional pain, and I resented it deeply. I guess I am in good company; the disciples even took offense with Jesus when He began to teach them things they did not want to hear. John 6:60-61

60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this?

So what would have been the better response on my part in dealing with the offense?  How could I keep my heart clean of the dark film that resentment would bring? Surely, bitterness must be the next step beyond resentment. 

Solomon seems to say that we have a choice; we can use love to cover the offense, overlook it, not share it with others, and above all keep calm. (He was a wise man…)

Proverbs 10:12 Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.

Proverbs 17:9 Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.

Proverbs 19:11 Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.

Ecclesiastes 10:4 If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for calmness will lay great offenses to rest.

Basically, offenses will come to us. We will be offended by the words and actions of other. Offenses will come, but we do not have to “take” them into ourselves. The hurtful comments do not have to find a place in our identity. I can choose to let love cover the offense by believing the person was only acting out of the hurt he was feeling. (See Hurting People)

I can choose not to “take” the offense to others thereby spreading the resentment. Again, a choice characterized as seeking love.

The offense can be overlooked if I choose not to “take” it into my view of the person so that all my future encounters with this person are colored by this event.

Mainly, I need to keep calm, give the hurt to the Healer, and find a place of rest in my spirit through forgiveness.

Hurting People

While it may be simplistic to say that hurting people-hurt other people, anyone who has ever attempted to help a hurt or wounded animal knows there is some truth in the statement. You may be the one trying to bring healing, but you can expect to be bitten or at least, shall we say, growled at in warning. A person who is feeling overwhelmed and hurting on the inside is more likely to lash out even toward those who are attempting to help them. They expect to be able to drive you away with their anger. If, within the bounds of safety, you are able to endure their anger you may be able to earn their trust as well. Herein lies the problem, when we feel we have done nothing to deserve the anger or abuse being heaped upon us, we also feel a desire to retaliate or defend ourselves. 

However, retaliation is not our responsibility. If we are following Christ, it is not our job to defend ourselves; it is His. Paul in writing to the Romans goes so far as to say NEVER avenge yourself. Romans 12:19(ESV)

19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

And of course those most difficult words of Christ,

Matthew 5:39, But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Oswald Chambers offers some insight,

The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is not- Do your duty, but – Do what is not your duty. It is not your duty to go the second mile, to turn the other cheek, but Jesus says if we are His disciples, we shall always do these things. There will be no spirit of –“Oh, well, I cannot do anymore; I have been so misrepresented and misunderstood”. Every time I insist upon my rights, I hurt the Son of God; whereas I can prevent Jesus being hurt if I take the blow myself. That is the meaning of filling up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ. [1]

Can we look at an angry person and see the hurt behind their expressions of frustration toward us?  Can we absorb their anger into the grace of God within us, and prevent it from traveling on to someone else? After all, if their hurt and anger were dumped on someone who was not able by the grace of God to take the blow; that person will probably pass on the hurt by hurting someone else.

[1] Chambers, Oswald. My utmost for His highest. Uhrichville: Barbour Publishing, 1963.