Why Do We Shoot the Wounded?
Good Morning Friends,
There is amble evidence to suggest that the world has less suffering today on a per capita basis than when we were hunter gatherers. Maybe it is because there are more people in jail and we tend to not count their suffering. Yet still it is exceedingly difficult for Christians to answer the question of why bad things happen to nice people…why bad things happen to children with promise…to faithful adults who strive to honor God and much less what to do when bad things happen to bad people. We try to reconcile our desires to forgive with our desires to protect others when parishioners, ministers and priests fail to be perfect. We begin to understand why Cain killed Abel… Why David sinned… And then we wonder what corporately we are to do when we think we see sin in others and ourselves. It is difficult when we, who claim that God is love, face situations that make it difficult to affirm that God is good in all situations. Part of the problem is that we fail to take personal responsibility to help others. Part of the problem is that we fail to see the flow of holy history. The reality is that we fail to help when it is most needed because it is hard. And then we have the reality that thousands of Christians suffer real emotional pain–such as depression, anxiety and compulsive behaviors. The reality is that today’s prisons and jails house the mentally ill and they are in our pews too. For those who care for the suffering, we have experienced the vivid proof that those in emotional pain deserve compassion, not condemnation.
For it is here in the midst of our wounded people, we see God at work, and we discover that healing is part of the blessings of obedience. So this morning I am hoping to be more thankful because I know that a wounded heart that receives healing is a closed door for evil. Friends, when we do what is right, as a servant of God, He restores and heals the broken pieces. It is no sin to hurt. But it might be a sin to be naïve. So, Why Do We Shoot the Wounded?
Scripture: Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
Ephesians 1.1-6 (NRSV)
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4-7 (NRSV)
But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Luke 6:35 (NRSV)
My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted.
Galatians 6:1 (NRSV)
Message: There is a saying that true gold and true silver are not afraid of the fire. I believe there is some merit to this. We bring His reflection into a broken world best if we have been broken…if the impurities have been burned away. Perhaps we suffer because it makes us better. It is beautiful to say that, “In love’s service only the wounded can serve.” But that is an incomplete answer as today’s devotional has an incomplete message. So today we read Paul’s thank you letter to his friends in Philippi. It is excellent counsel on how to develop a winning attitude for life…how to embrace the Golden Rule when we are blessed with gold and even when we are not. It speaks out to a world filled with the walking wounded… It is an antidote for the worries of the world. It is evidence that Paul did not succumb to the joy stealers. Indeed he kept a proper perspective; doing unto others as he would have them do unto him…extending that good will to even his enemies. He saw as we should, problems as possibilities, he saw people in relationship to their potential…. he saw the present in light of God’s promise. Paul calls us to practice patience, trust, joy and prayer daily, meditating on the good things, the power of
the Holy Spirit fixed in our minds so that we might apply ourselves to action…doing His will. Pray about everything…be content whatever the circumstances. Celebrate with praises seeing Christ at work in us as we shout out with unshakable joy… saying Thank You! But that was not always part of Paul’s history. There was one point in his life he killed Christians. So what did it take for Peter to make peace with Paul? It took great effort and a little holy intervention. So friends, here is the deal. Jesus spent much of His time here looking for and responding to the needs of broken people…wounded people so that he could respond to their needs. That is the ministry of our Lord. We have the same job and we are not very good at doing it together. Friends, the problem is not just an inadequacy of knowledge but also an inadequacy of an encounter with God.
Pray that we have the endurance and the faith to experience the purpose of God. Pray that when life seems unfair that we be true in the adversity. Pray we are tenacious when afflicted. Pray we are thankful when accused. Pray that evil collapse before us. Pray that when we suffer we be restored to experience joy but also in the process be part of a greater restoration. Pray we reject counterfeit blessings and claim those that God intends for us. Pray we are a strong example with Christ who suffered and died but also rose again. Pray
that the promises of God would speak to our hearts…fueling our hopes and flaming our actions with the power of God’s purpose…supernatural peace. Pray abiding with the Holy mind of Christ. Thank God that God might give us the proper perspective. Pray that the motivation of our actions be what Jesus did for us…that His grace given so freely would prompt in us the application of the rule…to love one another as Christ has loved us. Pray that we receive insights into how to live in the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 