Monday 19 November 2012

Grow love not war

Picture credit: friendburst
“Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Mark 4:1-9
It is our responsibility to keep our hearts open to God, always ensuring that there is good soil for His words to fall on and take root. The smallest things can hinder us from receiving His words and can make our hearts hard, whether we intend to do it or not. Unforgiveness, resentment, offence, anger, bitterness, anxiousness etc. are examples of seeds which Satan sows and if it takes root in our hearts, can choke the good seeds and steel the good soil. We are the ones who give power to these emotions or weeds as illustrated here and harbouring them is our choice.
I do understand that maybe great injustice has been done to you and forgiving someone for their harsh words or abusive actions might by very difficult, but God does not expect us to do this alone. We can ask Him to help us forgive, even though we struggle, all we need to be is willing to forgive. It is so dangerous to harbour unforgiveness as it breeds hurt, bitterness, contempt and often results in anger.  
When we are angry, the last thing we feel like is being vulnerable or lovable. We put our defences up, harden ourselves and we get ready to fight. Sometimes we just see red and there’s no space for reason. So now you can imagine, God is love. How does He fit into that picture? He doesn’t. When we reach that state, we inadvertently say that I’m here to take revenge and I want justice and someone needs to pay for the way I feel. At that moment we cut God out and our emotions take over and what follows thereafter can only lead to destruction of self and others. Afterwards when our emotions clam down, the last thing we feel is a sense of relief or joy, but rather increased hurt, emptiness and probably remorse.
“Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” Eph 4:26-27
When we try and punish someone for the wrong they have done towards us, we end up punishing ourselves more, especially when it involves people close to us. As with all of the lies of the devil, revenge is just another attractive door with a graveyard behind it. Let’s ask God to help us today, to rather choose love and to learn to let go of past things that are dragging us down and keeping our hearts hard. Let’s remove every weed to allow for more space and good soil for God’s words to take root and grow in our hearts and His peace will reign in our hearts.
“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Col 1:13-14
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” Col 3:12-15

The world is wide open - Jason Upton - SUCH a powerful song!

7 comments:

  1. Thank you for such and encouraging and straightforward read. So important to be reminded of these things.

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  2. I almost feel like you wrote this for me. I wanted to read this first, before contacting... You're so right, but it is so hard sometimes...

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    1. I agree, it is hard, but it becomes easier. I guess it's all about realising that holding a grudge just isn't worth it and we just end up hurting ourselves more. Also there is the other side of knowing that God has forgiven me for everything and i should also forgive everyone for everything as God forgave me. I didn't have to pay for any of my sin, but Jesus paid the price and i'm just reaping the benefits of it. How can we who have been forgiven everything, not forgive others?

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  3. I found your blog through a Proverbs 21 blog. I clicked on #forgiveness and read this awesome post. I am struggling with not being forgiven by my sister and it is truly one of the hardest things I've ever had to go through. I have forgiven her for her part in our disagreement, but it just seems as though Satan is determined to have his way with this and divide this family. Our mother passed away a year ago suddenly and there has been so much hurt for both of us. Forgiveness; true forgiveness would carve a path through all the hurt and guilt. Thank you for writing this...I am bookmarking this as well as forwarding it to another sister...maybe she'll find a way to reach her and speak these words to her. Lillian

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    1. Dear Lillian,
      Thank you for your comment and kind words of encouragement. It sounds like you have been very mature in that way that you have handled your situation. I can believe that it must be very hard. By forgiving your sister you have already set the wheels of restoration in motion for your family and I trust with you that God has an amazing plan to restore your relationship.

      It reminds me of Isaiah 61:3 " and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
      to bestow on them a crown of beauty
      instead of ashes,
      the oil of joy
      instead of mourning,
      and a garment of praise
      instead of a spirit of despair."
      I trust that God will take the ashes of your situation and turn it into a crown of beauty with joy and praise.

      Satan can huff and puff, but "greater is He that is in you than he that is in this world". Your family is already more than conquerers in Christ no matter what the schemes of Satan.

      Issues with relationships are always hard because the heart and emotions are involved, but God is faithful and He will pull you through. Stay strong, keep on forgiving and loving and i'm praying with you (and waiting in faith) for the restoration to happen.

      Be amazingly blessed! :)

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  4. Thank you so much for your reply! It really meant so much to hear those encouraging words. I will continue to pray about this and will print out this message to remind me that God is faithful and I can put all my trust in Him because if He is doing a work in both our lives, I need to wait on His timing and be patient. I know that when we reconcile, it will be a better relationship than before.

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