Loving People You Are Stuck With Series

One of the greatest attributes of Jesus is His forgiving heart.

• Jesus said at the outset that He has not come to condemn, but to redeem.

• This is remarkable because Jesus, being just and holy, has all the right to condemn.

• We have failed in many ways; we have done wrong countless times. Yet as imperfect as we are, when we come to Him we know we will not be despised but accepted, not spurned on but loved.

This is the heart of Jesus we see in the Gospels. We saw it at its best on the cross when He prayed for His enemies, "Father, forgive them!"

• How do we treat those who have offended us or hurt us? People we find it hard to get along, people we are stuck with?

• This is what we want to cultivate - the heart of Jesus is a forgiving heart. A heart that is BIG enough to accept the imperfections and the mistakes of others.

• This is what the Lord wants us to be. Let’s read Colossians 3:12-14.

Jesus puts it more blunt - Matt 5:44-45 "But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven."

The fact that the Bible says "bear with each other" means we will not always see eye to eye and agree on everything. There will be "grievances against one another."

• The question is not WHETHER people will step on your toes but WHEN. Those times will surely come.

• What do you do next? You have 3 ways to cope with it:

FLEE - you run as far as you can from him, you cannot even stand the look of him);

FIGHT - you go against him, you harbour resentment in your heart and seek for revenge, or you choose to be more generous, you

FORGIVE - leave it to God to judge him and refuse to take it personally.

You are not solving the problem by fleeing and fighting. You get into more trouble and experience greater stress.

• This passage gives us an answer. We see here a picture of what we need to PUT ON (clothe yourselves) and what we need to PUT OFF grievances. How? Do it through forgiveness.

• To forgive is to release that which is holding me - resentment, hurt, revengeful spirit. I refuse to take it personally.

So I’d like to sum this up in 2 lines:

(1) RELEASE them through FORGIVENESS; (2) CHANGE them through LOVE.

(1) RELEASE IT THROUGH FORGIVENESS

You release it and you flourish, because it is no longer holding you back or locking you in.

• Jesus had all the reasons to be disappointed in life - He faces many wrongful accusations and unjustified persecutions.

• Not just from without - the religious leaders and people who do not know Him, but also from within his small group of inner circle - His 12 disciples.

• For most part, they do not fully understand Him. There were doubts, denial and even betrayal from among the 12 who were closest to Him.

I wonder if Jesus had, at some time during His ministry, regretted calling the 12.

• They were "slow of heart to believe" Jesus said. They argued about who is the greatest among them, they slept when they should be praying and standing by Jesus.

Think about this. Jesus not only knew their private doubts and unspoken thought, He saw their future failures. He knew about Peter’s denial and Judas’ betrayal.

• Imagine this. What if you knew today every mistake that a person had made and every mistake he would ever make? What if you knew every thought he would have about you, every slander, dislike, or gossip about you?

• Do you think it was hard for Jesus to love Peter, knowing Peter would someday deny Him? Was it tough to love Thomas, knowing Thomas would even questioned His resurrection? Would Jesus love them less knowing that they would all flee when He needed them most, at the Garden of Gethsemane?

• Why would Jesus love them? Why would Jesus stick with the original 12 and not recruit a new batch?

Because right at the beginning, Jesus had already decided to accept them as they are, with all their imperfections and failures.

• He is not going to leave them as they are, but He has accepted them as they are.

• Right from the start, He believed in them and sought to help them grow up! God see the potential in the person He calls!

This perspective is crucial, and this attitude is what we want to cultivate today.

Learn to accept the imperfections and failures of others. Be forgiving, because we too need that.