As I sat for a moment on the side of the road and put my car in reverse to continue my commute home my first thoughts were not "Jesus bless them", to be more honest they were more like "Come on Jesus...". However, as I began to think about the best way to respond to the situation as a follower of Christ (even though they were long gone due to his failure to stop, which helped to solidify my hypothesis that I was dealing with a genuine jerk) I considered what the Bible says about how to handle hostile people. The Bible is clear that we must love our enemies and pray for them (Matt. 5:44) so in the midst of my frustration, after a few moments I found myself praying for them. I prayed that they would receive grace. I prayed that God would ignite an unselfishness in their heart (and mine). I prayed that they would develop a deep seeded compassion and love for others. For this jerk I prayed, and that is not an attempt to say that I am more spiritual or righteous than them because the more I prayed the more I remembered that Jessie needs Jesus just as much as that jerk does. So the next time you encounter a jerk show them Jesus, and remember that you freely receive love & grace from Him so they should freely receive the same from you.
Jerks & Jesus
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but there are jerks on the prowl. Don't judge me, you know you've called people much worse. I guess I have been quite fortunate to not have encountered a genuine jerk in a while but tonight, as my car was run off the road by one, I was reminded that they still live among us. Sometimes they roam in packs seeking unsuspecting prey at the mall and other times they stand as solo sour pusses waiting for the opportunity to share their hostile attitude at work. While there are several things that I, and I'm sure you, would like to say to these jerks as we encounter them in our daily lives there is one thing that we must keep in mind. We are designed to represent Jesus in all that we say and do. As a result we must choose to "opt out" of responses that don't do justice to His Name.
As I sat for a moment on the side of the road and put my car in reverse to continue my commute home my first thoughts were not "Jesus bless them", to be more honest they were more like "Come on Jesus...". However, as I began to think about the best way to respond to the situation as a follower of Christ (even though they were long gone due to his failure to stop, which helped to solidify my hypothesis that I was dealing with a genuine jerk) I considered what the Bible says about how to handle hostile people. The Bible is clear that we must love our enemies and pray for them (Matt. 5:44) so in the midst of my frustration, after a few moments I found myself praying for them. I prayed that they would receive grace. I prayed that God would ignite an unselfishness in their heart (and mine). I prayed that they would develop a deep seeded compassion and love for others. For this jerk I prayed, and that is not an attempt to say that I am more spiritual or righteous than them because the more I prayed the more I remembered that Jessie needs Jesus just as much as that jerk does. So the next time you encounter a jerk show them Jesus, and remember that you freely receive love & grace from Him so they should freely receive the same from you.
Article Jerks & Jesus Published By Jessie Jennings III Date Sunday, January 22, 2012. Hopefully this article has helped you. If so, let me know with a comment. Talk to you again soon! 0 Commenter: for post Jerks & Jesus
As I sat for a moment on the side of the road and put my car in reverse to continue my commute home my first thoughts were not "Jesus bless them", to be more honest they were more like "Come on Jesus...". However, as I began to think about the best way to respond to the situation as a follower of Christ (even though they were long gone due to his failure to stop, which helped to solidify my hypothesis that I was dealing with a genuine jerk) I considered what the Bible says about how to handle hostile people. The Bible is clear that we must love our enemies and pray for them (Matt. 5:44) so in the midst of my frustration, after a few moments I found myself praying for them. I prayed that they would receive grace. I prayed that God would ignite an unselfishness in their heart (and mine). I prayed that they would develop a deep seeded compassion and love for others. For this jerk I prayed, and that is not an attempt to say that I am more spiritual or righteous than them because the more I prayed the more I remembered that Jessie needs Jesus just as much as that jerk does. So the next time you encounter a jerk show them Jesus, and remember that you freely receive love & grace from Him so they should freely receive the same from you.
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