Live for Jesus today (4)

Terrible things happen to people across the world, including Christians. It's impossible to watch the news and not see this. So, how do we respond? Jesus' first followers give us some examples of how not to. Peter responded to a violent assault and tried to protect Jesus with some unwanted sword action, and one of the mob lost an ear. Jesus immediately put the brakes on Peter's revenge rampage, and healed the guy's ear.

Fast-forward a few months and Jesus has died, risen and left his Spirit with his followers. Suddenly they're all behaving differently. No more blade-wielding Peter. No more revenge quests. The disciples saw themselves and all other human beings on a level playing field, all in need of the living God to help them. In the book of Acts we see them reaching out with Jesus' compassion to help and heal others, and boldly telling others that Jesus is Lord. They prayed for their own jailers and torturers. Things had changed because they saw everyone's need for the gospel. Their eyes were opened to the weakness of all humans.

Henri Nouwen puts it like this: 'In the face of the oppressed, I recognise my own face and in the hands of the oppressor I recognise my own hands. Their flesh is my flesh, their blood is my blood, their pain is my pain, their smile is my smile.'



So what now? Today, pray for persecuted people around the world. And pray for their persecutors.





— SCRIPTURE —

'This Gospel...will be preached in all the world.' Matthew 24:14 NKJV
— SOULFOOD —

Jer 49-50, Matt 1:1-6, Ps 50:16-23, Pro 10:11-13