Bible Study:
Jeremiah 11, 18 and to 20. And John 7, 40 to 53.
It was Jim
Reeves who sang:
“This
world is not my home I'm just a-passin' through.
My
treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.
The angels
beckon me from heaven's open door.
And I
can't feel at home in this world anymore.”
However,
as much as we tend to agree with what he says, we do not like to accept the bitter
truth that this world is really not ours. We live as through this world belongs
to us and we have every right to remain here forever. How? We get to notice our
extreme love for the world when faced with threats of the wicked or evil people.
From our reaction at times, it becomes clear that we do not really believe in
the existence of heaven and we do not like to think that there could ever be a
place better than this earth where we would call home.
Upon
hearing or even imagining any such thing as a plot by some group of persons to
harm us, we instantly become unsettled. The next thing is that we label certain
persons as “enemies” and we begin to plot even greater plans to destroy them
before they get to us. And we justify our actions with the theory of “self-defence.”
At the end, we who say we are children of God, end up displaying a greater
degree of wickedness than our so-called enemies. To kill a fly, we get a sledge
hammer!
Even our
modern day preachers and ministers do not seem to help matters. I was passing
through the streets of this town and I saw a bill board with a bold headline: “You
monitor me, you die!” Immediately I started laughing. What makes us think that
we have become so important that others do not have anything else to do other
than to monitor us and even us they keep track of our activities, isn’t it
meant to show them that God is doing well for us that they too may be converted?
We call ourselves Christians, yet day in day out, we are praying for the death
of our imagined enemies.
When his
life was under threat, did Jesus ever pray for the death of his enemies? Did he
ever wish the death of the Pharisees who clearly were planning his death? Even when
soldiers came to arrest him and he saw them, did he run away? Did Jesus get
body guards like our modern pastors do? Did Jesus use a convoy with heavily
armed military men? What did Jesus do? He simply preached the truth to them. His
teaching was so convincing that even the soldiers came back to confess that no
one has ever spoken like him before. He spoke to the heart of his enemies because
he loved those who sought his very life and continued to love them even when he
drew his last breath. Can you do likewise?
Jeremiah
is a classic model for us as to how to pray for our enemies. Just check out how
he selects his words in today’s first reading: “O LORD of hosts, who judgest
righteously, who triest the heart and the mind, let me see thy vengeance upon
them, for to thee have I committed my cause.” Jeremiah 11, 20. To you O lord I commit
my cause. This is how to pray for your enemies. Not to wish them death!!!
Let us
Pray:
Lord
Jesus, you alone knows the mind and heart of all men, fight my battles for into
your hands I commend my whole being. Amen.
God bless
you. Good morning. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. Do
have a great weekend!
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