The stretch to love

Love Your Enemies (Luke 6)

27 “But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If anyone hits you on the cheek, offer the other also. And if anyone takes away your coat, don’t hold back your shirt either. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and from one who takes your things, don’t ask for them back. 31 Just as you want others to do for you, do the same for them. 32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do what is good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is gracious to the ungrateful and evil. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

Yesterday, going through my mind was to love those who don't love me, what good is it to just love those who love me, because even "sinners"(those who sin intentionally) love those who love them. 

It is one of the hardest things for me to do.  I can be nice and not repay evil for evil without a hitch.  I have no mean intentions in my body, praise God I have enough to work on...but to actually care for and think of someone who doesn't love me and hurts me intentionally, well that is a lot to ask...but it's good.  My day stayed on the theme of loving those who don't love me and I finished the day reading from a book by Debi Pearl.  She wrote "...consider the other person's welfare; you need to be mindful of the other person's perspective and weakness.  I often have little to no trouble thinking about the people I do not know and their weakness and perspective, granting them grace and making a million and one  possible excuses for them in my mind.  It is much harder however, to excuse what I know.  If I know a person is often rude to others because I have witnessed it, then it is harder to let it slide if they appear to be rude to me.  It is harder to trust someone I know has lied multiple times, even harder to smile around them and be joyful.

I have not had a breakthrough per say but I do realize that my joy should not be wrapped up in how I am treated by others.

James 1:2(HCSB)

Trials and Maturity

² Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials,

Hebrews 10:34 (HCSB)

³⁴ For you sympathized with the prisoners and accepted with joy the confiscation of your possessions, knowing that you yourselves have a better and enduring possession
^{(in Heaven)}

The opportunity to lose my joy while trying to be joyful through any trial is ever evident but must be fought.  We weren't given armor to have something to look fabulous in, it is a functional piece. 

" We stand and lift up our hands for the joy of the Lord is our strength."
https://youtu.be/x_bEzvAHbvo

Lord thank You for the joy You pour out on us, help us to receive this joy and store it in our hearts and shine out for all to see Your glory and may our joy and strength serve as a testimony to You and Your goodness. In Jesus name, Amen,

"Easy for you to say..."

"Easy for you to say!"  I have said that before and I can tell you for me personally the people I have said this to and the people I have often just thought this about are people who had an easy time being able to say what they said.

This is not about the few people born with a silver spoon in their mouth, this is about the people with a good work ethic, goals and plans they put in place and achieve. 

Unfortunately I am a person whose natural tendency is to analyze every detail of conversations.  I often insert things I have heard a person say before, into the conversation when it was never said and maybe never implied.  I get angry with people when they have not said anything to anger me.  I do this simply based on what I THINK they are thinking....which is based on past reactions and situations.  Today I found myself doing this nasty habit yet again and in my mind I spoke for someone by saying... " Easy for you to say." in response to my comment.  At that moment my thoughts went to.."No, NO, No it is NOT easy for me to say.  I just made different choices than you.  I worked my tail off for someone to be able to look at the surface picture and say " Easy for you to say."  Then I was reminded of all the times I have actually said this to people.  I recalled the faces of some of them and thought on how they just chose different than I did.   One of these people may say to me, " You should really go on vacation! You could really use it.  I know it helped me to take a break and get away."   to which my internal response would be " Easy for you to say, you have money to take a vacation. You don't know hard it is for us."  Well the truth may be they DON'T know how hard it is for us, but the truth is also I don't know how hard it was for them to get to that point of being able to take vacations. How much they sacrificed during the years I was "living large".  On my path I worked my tail to the bone, but I didn't go without to save of a rainy day, I had all kinds of clothes, I had a nice car with a big payment, a mortgage I couldn't handle and I loved to eat out.  I invested NOTHING.  I spent the years I should have been saving for a rainy day living like I did have a silver spoon in my mouth.  So times have been hard...but they are hard because I made poor choices.  I have no right saying something is easy for someone else, just as others have no right to say the same about me.

In this world in general we have eyes to see with...to take the steps we need to take to move when we need to get out of the way etc.  But often we use our eyes to focus on each other and see where the other one is going.  Perhaps if we kept our eyes on our own path we would have a better path.  Perhaps our time would be spent more wisely and perhaps we wouldn't think we needed all the extras we think we need.  Just food for thought, and I'm thinking.

Matthew 7:1

[ Do Not Judge ] “Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged.

Proverbs 26:17 (AMP)

¹⁷ He who, passing by, stops to meddle with strife that is none of his business is like one who takes a dog by the ears.