What Would Love Do?

Pour out Your wrath on them; 

let Your fierce anger overtake them. . .

For they persecute those You wound 

and talk about the pain of those You hurt.

Psalm 69:24 & 26

It is a false kind of Christianity that assumes, if not insists, that God means a good reputation and pleasantness always for His people, and then wrongly judges those who do not have these. It is the testimony of God Himself that such nonsense is in fact nonsense. Woe to those who propagate the lies. Woe to the professing believer who lives as though this world is all there is. And woe to the ones who speak evil of those God is afflicting. And woe to the foolish that credit the followers of Jesus with causing too many of the troubles that fall upon them. And woe to each of us that takes no action to relieve said troubles, for, says David, "I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none" (v20).

If we're going to bear the burdens of our brothers and sisters in Christ (which is commanded as an expression and fulfillment of Jesus' love - Ga 6), it necessarily means carrying at least a portion of the weight that presently rests exclusively upon them. I suggest a weekly discussion with your family, (or if single, with yourself) to consider whom you may relieve, bless, and help. Consider thoughtfully their wounds and ask yourself, "If I were in their situataion, what would I need?" Pray and strive against the selfishness-fueled uselessness that marks so many of us. We tend to be a soft and silly people, whose values and pursuits and preoccupations are basically the same as those of the pagan. May God grant that we evermore be marked by sacrificial and refreshing neighbor love.

Jesus pronounces blessing on those who suffer for Him and what He loves; and makes them grand promises of reward (Lk 6:22; Mt 5:10-12); while He pronounces curses on those of whom all speak well (Lk 6:26). How far we are from the heart and mind of the Son of God, and the message of the Scriptures that reveal Him.