Thursday, June 25, 2009

What spirit are you of?



The other day, I read Luke 9:51-56.
"Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.
And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, 'Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?'
But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them."
And they went to another village.

What manner of spirit do we display when we pray,
"Lord, whatever it takes, do what you have to do to bring this person to You," or

"Don't let them sleep until they get right with you."?

How much compassion do we have for those who once proclaimed they were Christians and are now showing signs of dwindling faith?
Do we bring them nearer to Him or drive them farther away with our words and actions?

How about the way we respond to people who live an alternative lifestyle?
Do we call down fire from heaven and tell them they are going to hell,
or do we love them the way Christ does?
Would they want to be like us after being with us?
Would they want to be like Him after being with us?

What about the things we see on the news? What about the way people are rejecting Christ and Christianity? What is our response to those who will not 'let Christ in their village' because He is going in a direction that they don't want to go.
Are we Christ-like in our responses to un-Christians?
Sometimes, I hear some pretty violent reactions from believers regarding those who reject Christ and the principles we hold dear. Sometimes, I have some pretty violent thoughts that aren't pretty at all.

I am burdened with this.
I am so sorry for the times I have 'called down fire' on the very people that Christ came to seek and to save.
I don't want to be of a different spirit than Christ.
There will be time enough for fire to fall down from Heaven.
Now is the time for mercy.
There is still time to help Jesus seek and save that which is lost.
How can we help Him if we are spouting prayers of revenge and speaking caustic words of judgment
rather than praying for mercy and moving on to the next village?
God forgive us.
God forgive us for wanting to destroy
those He loves so much.

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