A Song. A Psalm of Asaph. O God, do
not keep silence; do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
For behold, your enemies make an uproar; those
who hate you have raised their heads.
They lay crafty plans against your people; they
consult together against your treasured ones.
They say, "Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name
of Israel be remembered no more!" Psalm 83:1-4
O my God, make them like whirling dust, like chaff
before the wind.
As fire consumes the forest, as the flame sets
the mountains ablaze, so may you pursue
them with your tempest and terrify them with your hurricane!
Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek
your name, O LORD.
Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever;
let them perish in disgrace, that they may know that you alone, whose name is
the LORD, are the Most High over all the earth.
Psalm 83:13-18
"You have heard that it was said,
'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
But I say to you, Love your enemies and
pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons
of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on
the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
For if you love those who love you,
what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet only your brothers,
what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
You therefore must be perfect, as your
heavenly Father is perfect.
Matt 5:43-48
Master, so much
has happened since my last blog. I have experienced life with its great
blessings and its curses. And I confess I’ve let these things preoccupy me to
the point where I have not been as faithful to this record as I want to be.
Forgive me.
You have taught
me that the ups and downs of this life do not define me. How I endure passing
events with You as my guide, You who have
known me since I was in the womb and who will know me beyond; You give me true
shape and form.
But what does
this have to do with persecution? Isn’t that the continued subject matter that
You have put on my heart and that the world would distract me from?
Interesting, that in a time such as this, I am experiencing a form of
persecution that might cause me to walk in self-pity and self-concern…or, if I
am true to You, should encourage me to continue in the direction of spiritual
awareness. That path leads toward Your will for me, my family and those to whom
I might witness. I choose the second walk. I know You will be with me on that journey.
Then again, as You said through the prophet Jerimiah, walking with You will
involve learning some very difficult (mighty) things. Am I prepared for that?
Case in point is
my attitude toward those who would persecute me…otherwise known as my enemies. Lord, You have some very
particular things to say about my enemies. I read Old Testament scripture and
it seems that Your enemies take a beating. I read the New Testament and I’m
told to love my enemies. Why the difference in treatment? Aren’t my enemies the
same as Your enemies?
I know of some
specific entities and individuals that I would like to see punished for the indignities
I believe they have caused me and others. I think, by setting an example of
them, Your kingdom would be well served and greatly improved.
I’m not alone in
this sentiment. Even your servant David asked You to “clean house” on his
behalf. Yet as I recall, You had to humble that man on a number of occasions to
make sure he understood whose agenda was paramount.
That’s
the crux of this harsh lesson, isn’t it Lord? I have to be careful not to claim
righteous indignation when pointing my finger at others. That’s Your job. My
job is to reach out to those in need as Your hand and fee. I’m to let You
hammer out the details regarding who deserves Your wrath. As for my enemies? My
job description appears not to change.
I’m
not particularly pleased with this arrangement, Jesus. Yet, I realize that,
though I and my fellow believers may be persecuted, there is work and witness
to be done. I look at what You expected of Ananias when a well-known persecutor
of believers showed up in his town. That perceived enemy of Yours, Saul, turned
out to be one of Your greatest apostles. Would I have followed Ananias’ example
and given comfort to someone responsible for the torture and death of my clan?
That’s why today
I find myself humbled and thankful. Who might I have knowingly or unknowingly
abused? What have I done that might stand in the way of Your plan? Might I look like Your enemy to certain
others? What unforgiveness lurks in my heart that You forgive regardless?
Guilty as
charged Lord, but I ask for You to cleanse me, direct me, love me as You would
have me love my enemies. Teach me. In spite of all my failings, please continue
to work in me until I completely healed. Help me now to share that healing love;
not tolerance, but true concern for the spiritual and physical wellbeing of
those You call out to.
Lord, I’ll
strive to let You, in Your perfect way, handle Your enemies (much as I’d like
to help You with that). As You suggest in Matthew’s testimony, please help me,
with my enemies, to be perfect as my Father in Heaven is perfect.
Thankfully,
Mark C.
