But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Luke 6:35
Am I the only one in the world who has huge life goals, and then totally forgets about them once I get caught up in living? My life goal is to be as much like Jesus as possible, yet a lot of the time I don't make time for people. Jesus LOVED people; He DIED for people. I mean, I make plenty of time for people, but usually only the ones that can pour into me. I don't spend nearly enough time pouring into other people, simply for the sake of pouring into them. That's what Jesus did right? He poured into people that could do nothing in return for Him. He died for people who didn't even LIKE him! That's huge. People HATED Him. They wanted to KILL Him. Jesus Christ was willing to die so that they could have eternal life. When people have even the slightest negative feelings towards me, I avoid them. People maybe don't like me, and for me it is easier to just avoid the situation.
Let me reiterate:
Jesus: People hated and wanted Him dead, so He died to give them eternal life.
Me: People maybe don't like me so much, so I hide.
Maybe I'm not doing such a great job at moving towards my goal. As a child of Jesus Christ, I am called to LOVE those who hate me; my enemies. I think that also means that I am called to love those who maybe might have a few negative feelings towards me. And if I'm scared of what they may think when I reach out and love them? Then I am not a follower of God.
Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. Galatians 1:10
I have been called to stand out. If unbelievers see me as normal, if they understand everything that I am doing, then something is terribly wrong. I haven't been called to "fit in", and neither has any other believer. My first goal should be to love others as Christ loves me, not to do what makes myself and others feel "comfortable".
All of that being said, I'm going through a period where God is seriously convicting me regarding all of the past grudges that I have held. Recently, the Lord has miraculously removed those old harsh feelings from my heart, and has given me a strangely forgiving spirit towards any new ones that could form. Yet I still feel that I must take action on these convictions. I must confront these old "enemies" of mine; those that I have now forgiven. Even if they see it as being unnecessary, random, or too late. It needs to be done. That's the easy part. Those wounds are old, and were held onto only because of my own stubbornness. The difficult part will be confronting the "fresh wounds". Those are the wounds that for some reason didn't hurt so much, yet forced me to hide. Those are the people that maybe don't like me so much right now; and I hear that they've been saying mean things. Am I angry at those people? Not at all. Zero. BUT, those are they people that might flip out when I try to make amends, and they also might think that I sound like an idiot. So I'm a little bit scared.
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7
If I am called to love those who don't like me, not try and please men, and not to be timid, then what am I waiting for? God has given me a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline. I can do all things with Christ who strengthens me. This is just another incredible opportunity to grow, to move closer towards my goal, and to glorify the Lord. Because doing this kind of stuff? Confronting people? This is so obviously not me.
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14
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