11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
—The words of Jesus from Matthew 5:11-12
I am always amazed when I observe someone responding to hatred with love. You would think that would stand as a common occurrence in the lives of those who remain committed followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. But, in my experience, some of the most ardent “haters” seem to reside among the ranks of those who claim to belong to the Savior.
In contrast, I recently observed a very practical example of a particular believer extending God-breathed love toward someone who obviously despises him. I was deeply touched, and equally deeply convicted. For I am not at all certain I would have responded with the same loving grace that the person I observed used in dealing with someone who seems overwhelmed by hatred.
The exchange took place on Twitter, that bastion of social discourse. As he does several times each day, Pastor Rick Warren from Saddleback Community Church in Orange County, California, sent out a Tweet. It read as follows:
@RickWarren I'd go to jail rather than cave in to a government mandate that violates what God commands us to do. Would you? Acts 5:29
Pastor Rick sent this Tweet in response to the reports that the government intends to force all institutions—including church-based institutions—to provide birth control and sterilization as part of their healthcare coverage. This, of course, violates the tenets of several Christian groups, most notably the Roman Catholic Church.
In response, Jon Ward (@jonward11), a Senior Political Reporter for the Huffington Post re-Tweeted Pastor Rick’s Tweet verbatim.
In response to this re-Tweet, an invidual who hides her real name behind the appellation “Equality is a right” and uses the Twitter name @proudliberalmom responded with this Tweet:
@proudliberalmom @RickWarren @jonward11 k. I'll lock u up and throw away the key. Bye bye
In case you don’t speak Tweet-ese, this translates: “Okay. I’ll lock you up and throw away the key. Bye bye.”
Here’s Pastor Rick’s response:
@RickWarren May God bless you richly. He loves you deeply.
I am quite certain that faced with someone who has political views I find loathsome and tops those views off with a snarky attitude that cloaks her identity so she can fill Twitter with barbed, insulting Tweets, my first reaction would not be to respond as Pastor Rick did.
You see, Pastor Rick allowed the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to flow through him and into the life of someone who quite likely hates him. That’s the behavior Christ expects of all those who follow Him. Pastor Rick knows that Jesus’ teaching in His “Sermon on the Mount”—part of which includes the Scripture passage at the beginning of this blog post—provides the enabling within Pastor Rick’s life that allows the love of Christ to override every obstacle erected by our natural human tendencies.
I am convicted and humbled by this godly example. Now, it’s up to me to do something about it in my own life. How about you in yours?
Will you pray with me?
Thank You, God, for loving us. Thank You for sending Jesus to be our Savior. Thank You for sending us Your Holy Spirit to dwell within us.
Father, I confess that I would not have responded to the hateful comments that Pastor Rick received with the love and grace of Your Precious Son, as Pastor Rick did. I ask forgiveness for those times I have allowed my anger to rule my response. I need the help of Your Holy Spirit to direct me so that when I am attacked I will respond with Your love. Where I do not possess the ability to do this on my own, please move me toward obedience.
Thank You, dear Father, for Your kindness and gentleness that leads us along the pathway of righteousness. There is not one moment in every day but that we need a full measure of Your grace, peace, and love. So, thank You for providing all we need to become Your obedient and loving children. And, thank You for hearing our prayer in and through the precious Name of Your Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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