Pastor Bell's Words To Live By

Hatred causes the feud to continue as generation after generation seeks retribution and a sense of justice. Jonah typifies the reaction to God’s redeeming, transforming and restorative love. He wanted self gratification and the notoriety that can boast about the 120,000 people that “I” destroyed. On the other hand Jesus teaches us to die to self and forgive those who despitefully use us, love those who plot against us and keep on loving even in the face of a wall of hatred. There is no mileage in continued hatred it only ends when we confront it with perfect love. Loving those who hate you is hard, but this is the love that God showed us. It was unconditional, uncompromising love that looks beyond the faults of the individual and sees their need. This was the kind of love that Jesus spoke about, loving someone because deep down in their spirit they bear the image of God. This is how martin Luther King Junior put it: “When the opportunity presents itself for you to defeat your enemy that is the time which you must not do it. There will come a time, in many instances, when the person who hates you most, the person who has misused you most, the person who has gossiped about you most, the person who has spread false rumours about you most, there will come a time when you will have an opportunity to defeat that person. It might be in terms of a recommendation for a job; it might be in terms of helping that person to make some move in life. That’s the time you must not do it. That is the meaning of love. In the final analysis, love is not this sentimental something that we talk about. It’s not merely an emotional something. Love is creative, understanding goodwill for all men. It is the refusal to defeat any individual. When you rise to the level of love, of its great beauty and power, you seek only to defeat evil systems. Individuals who happen to be caught up in that system, you love, but you seek to defeat the system.” There are people today who will die so that love can have the opportunity to continue to transform and re-order lives. So today try to see the God in those who hate you rather than seeking to get even with them.  Unlike Jonah, don’t cry that your enemies didn’t get zapped; rejoice that they will be saved!

Read the beautiful attitude in Matthew 5