It’s been a crazy two weeks for our family. An unexpected event has turned our world upside down. We’ve grieved. We’ve felt angry. We’ve felt hurt. We’ve had to process those emotions with the Lord and with others. And then we had to start making several significant life changes for our family that weren’t even on our radar 2 weeks ago.
The Lord doesn’t waste turbulent times like these.
His biggest challenge to me in the midst of this craziness has been to take a look at my heart and to really examine how well (or how poorly, as the case may be) I love other people.
There’s a passage of scripture that reads, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus,” (Philippians 2:3-5).
Ah.
This is a convicting knife to the heart when you’re feeling wronged and hurt by someone else. We still have to value them? We still have to consider their interests? We have to think about them as Christ thinks about them?
What, exactly, is “the mindset of Christ”?
Verse 7, “…he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant…” and verse 8, “…he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death…” (Philippians 2:7, 8).
Christ’s mindset toward others – all others, even those who don’t “deserve” His love – is to serve them humbly and to die to Himself. When Jesus hung on that cross, He didn’t do it because it was in His best interest. When He was beaten beyond all recognition, Jesus’ thoughts weren’t fixed on Himself. He was solely concerned with doing what was in our best interest.
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters,” 1 John 3:16.
Even our brothers and sisters who hurt us? Yes. (Matthew 5:43-48)
Even our brothers and sisters who repeatedly hurt us? Yes. (Matthew 18:21-22)
I struggled long and hard with that last one. I wrestled all last week, looking for scriptural loop holes. I came up empty. The Lord kept bringing me back to two thoughts:
- If I give up on those who hurt me, how will they ever grow?
- How many times has Jesus given up on me?
That second thought puts a lump in my throat every time I think about it. Jesus has never, for any reason, ever refused me another chance. How dare I ever consider, for any reason, refusing to give someone else another chance? Jesus has forgiven me too much for me to wash my hands of someone else (Luke 7:47).
Having the mind of Christ toward others is longing to see them grow in their relationships with the Lord no matter what it costs me.
This is powerful stuff. It is so hard to do this and it feels like your a door mat. But you learn quickly that laying down your life for another is not easy and passive. It requires great courage, strength, and faith. I pray that you find that courage, strength, and faith to carry you through whatever it is you’re facing.
Good stuff.
He was ego-less. He didn’t take anything personally. But if someone did break the spirit of the law, i.e., the money-changers, or the pharisees — Jesus let ’em know about it. Turning the other cheek does not mean being passive. On the contrary it’s a very active form of ignoring things over which you have no control. Forgiveness, like loving, is an act of the will. Even when you don’t feel like it, love anyway.
Praying for you sweet Kelly and your family, sometimes things are sooo hard, but we have an awesome God!!!!!
Love and Blessings
Marilyn
Wow – you have gone deep quickly – I am glad you could – I know I try to establish a habit of praise – that gets my focus on God fairly quickly too