Photo Credit: Soroush Karimi
I’ve had unusual experiences lately where right in the middle of mayhem God’s word comes to me as a clear scripture quote from the Bible. Also, whilst reading the Bible at dusk, just before bedtime, and praying… (Yeeehaaa! I finally got around to doing it! Praise Jesus!) I happen upon scripture quotes that I’ve always known by heart. And oh the wisdom they carry. The truth they embed in my spirit, upon my heart, as I meditate on these eternal nuggets of God’s Wisdom. In this month of June, I will be expounding (God help me!) on some of these truths. And I pray that you too will begin to hear the Holy Spirit whisper scriptures to you in the middle of crises. That they would be like a lamp to your feet and a light to your path. Scriptures that bare answers and give strength for the day. May we learn to live a day at a time this June. Amen.
"What is the meaning of non-resistance?"
What exactly was Jesus saying to us in Matthew 5:38-42: You have heard that it has been said, eye for eye and tooth for tooth. But I tell you, do not resist and evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. He was preaching a message of non-resistance. He was saying quite simply, “do not retaliate”, “do not meet oppression with anger, hatred, or with the intent to inflict retribution.” Jesus is saying, “yield without resistance!” He is saying, “submit to the indignity of being blown in the cheek”, “yield the coat”, “and go the extra mile.” Does any of this make sense to you? Does your life in any way reflect or demonstrate this commandment? How many times have you gotten into heated arguments because of injustice? How often have you allowed bitter rage to eat you up because of unwarranted oppression? Yet Jesus is saying, “suck it up!”, “yield!” That’s hard. Yet He bids us to obey. Why? Because: 1 Corinthians 13:7 (ESV) Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. So, what is the true meaning of non-resistance then? According to MacLaren’s Expositons: The truest answer is that it is a form of Love,— love in the face of insults, wrongs, and domineering tyranny, such as are illustrated in Christ’s examples in Matthew 5:38-42. Are you capable of love in its truest form as described in 1 Corinthians 13? Can you bear ALL things? Can you endure ALL things? May the Lord stir our hearts to obey, to yield in every sense of the word, and to strive to do all that He has commanded us to do. In the name our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
1 Corinthians 13:7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
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