Challenges
I just found out last night that my friend's dad had passed away on Monday. It's a shock for me because we as a small group have been praying for her dad and her family for a while, and I didn't expect the death to come so quickly. When she e-mailed me about it, I had no idea what I should write back in reply. I didn't know which passage to send her, and I didn't know what words were "appropriate" to say. Then my brain started to go all wild, and I tried to imagine what it would be like if I were in her shoe. I have no idea how I can handle such things. Dealing with a loss is never easy.At around the same time I received a weird ICQ message. The message brought back memories that I would never want to remember again. How do you forgive someone when they try to hurt you again and again (and you have no idea what you've done to deserve such treatment)? My friend blogged about something similar and I happened to be reading it last night, and my thoughts totally echoed his. What's so challenging is the way how I should deal with these people as a Christian. It's easy for me to ignore them, forget about them and cut off my relationship with them so that I have nothing to do with them anymore. But this is not the Biblical standard.
"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that...But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." Luke 6:32-33, 35-36.
In the midst of learning how to protect myself from being hurt again, acting out this passage is the biggest challenge in my life right now.
posted by Growing Flower @ 2/25/2004 06:17:00 p.m.
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