Forgiveness Set Me Free to Love – A Poem

Each year WordPress provides me with an annual report of my blogging activity for the past year. Included in the top five posts of 2012 was an article titled Forgiveness that I wrote for my church newsletter and was the second thing I posted when I started this blog in September 2009. I realized that the subject of forgiveness is timeless and so I decided to write more posts on that topic in 2013. I am starting with this poem about how forgiveness leads to freedom from despair.

Forgiveness Set Me Free to Love

Anger tethered me to the past
holding on strong, holding me back
imprisoned in a dungeon of my own making

Deceived into believing
the walls had been built by another
solid walls I could not escape

Blame fostered thoughts of revenge
of justice for the transgressor
as the Accuser spurred me on

The future seemed a blur
of decades in darkness and woe
with no hope of joy or love

Then through tiny cracks
in the walls of my misery
a light shone, beckoning me escape

The light whispered in the darkness
Forgive and let go
Leave justice to Me

It seemed too simple
and yet to forgive was impossible
without the light to show the way

I could bear the darkness no more
the anger had made me weary
the hatred was draining all life

Trusting the light
I chose to forgive, even the unforgivable
I clung to love instead of hatred

Like the walls of Jericho
the prison of my despair
crumbled and fell at His word

Forgiveness set me free
to live and to love in peace
with hope for my future in view

As this poem began to form in my mind, I thought of the families of the 20 children who were killed in Newtown, Connecticut. These children are now in heaven with Jesus and have no need of lessons on forgiveness. But the families left behind to mourn their loss will need to learn to forgive the troubled young man who perpetrated the evil that took their children away from them.

The natural reaction will be anger and hatred, but unless those feelings give way to forgiveness these families will be trapped in a dungeon of despair. They will need the light and love of God to free them. My prayer for them is that they will be able to trust the Light of Christ to tear down the walls of anger and to ensure true justice prevails.

Out of the Heart

I know that we are not supposed to judge others (see Luke 6:37), and that only God is able to see into the heart of a man (see 1 Samuel 16:7).

But right after command us to not judge, Jesus says:

“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” Luke 6:43-45 (NIV).

So even though we are not to judge others in terms of pronouncing their ultimate fate — for only Jesus is our ultimate judge — we can still sometimes tell what another has stored up in their heart, whether it be evil or good, by the things that they say.

One who stores up anger, hatred, envy, jealousy, and pride in their heart will often speak ill of others, revealing the evil that they cling to. They will constantly complain about and judge others. Having people such as this in our lives can be truly exhausting as they are difficult to love as the Lord has commanded us to love.

Each of us must be careful of the words we speak and be aware of any evil in our own hearts that words of bitterness might reveal. When we see such bad fruit in the lives of others it is a good time to take an inventory of our own fruitfulness. It is also a good time to practice the lessons our Lord has taught us about how we are to live and not allow such evil to spread to our own hearts.

Above all, I believe the Lord calls us to be a witness to and pray for those in our lives whose bitterness, envy, and pride can cause us such grief. Quoting in part from Proverbs 25:21-22, the apostle Paul wrote:

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
   if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:17-21 (NIV).

When Paul, quoting from Proverbs, says being kind to your enemy “will heap burning coals on his head,” what exactly does he mean? According to Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, this phrase signifies “retribution by kindness, i.e., that, by conferring a favor on your enemy, you recall the wrong he has done to you, so that he repents, with pain of heart.” Vine’s pg. 107. In other words, by repaying another’s evil with kindness, you might cause him to return to the Lord and be saved so that Christ might reign in his heart.

But it is important to remember that it is only by the grace of God that we are able to treat the one whose bad fruit seems to plague our lives with love. It is Christ living in us who loves them and wants to change their heart, to destroy the evil in their heart and replace it with good, who is alone able to give us the capacity to show them love. For it is when we store up Christ in our own hearts that we are able ourselves to bear good fruit.

Mad Is Easier than Sad

As we enter the Lenten season, and I ponder the sins I struggle with, a thought occurred to me that encapsulates my struggle: mad is easier than sad.

In other words, when someone hurts me and I feel sad, it is easier to decide to be angry or mad about what they have done than to feel sadness. If I decide to be mad, then I can cling to the illusion of control that is absent in the midst of sadness.

But the control I feel really is only an illusion. When I choose anger instead of sadness, I have given over control to the devil because it is the devil who wants to see me angry and unforgiving.

As I opened my Bible to our scripture readings for the Ash Wednesday service last Wednesday, my eye fell upon a passage that preceded our reading. We were reading from Matthew 6, but my eye was drawn to these words of Jesus:

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” Matthew 5:21-22 (NIV).

This is not the only place in scripture where we hear Jesus telling us to not be angry. In fact, He says that if we do not let go of our anger and forgive others then we will not be forgiven. See Matthew 6:15. He also tells the wonderful parable of the unmerciful servant who is forgiven a huge debt by his master, but then refuses to forgive his fellow servant’s debt owed to him. Matthew 18:21-35 (NIV).

It is clear from scripture that as easy as being mad may be, it is not what our Lord wants for us or from us. Anger and unforgiveness are serious sins that need to be repented of. I must turn to God and ask His help in overcoming this sin.

As I thought about how much easier it is to be mad than to be sad, it occurred to me that the latter is not a sin. Nowhere in scripture (that I am aware of) does God tell us not to be sad and to turn from our sadness. In fact, in the beatitudes Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4 (NIV). In Romans 12:15, Paul tells us to “mourn with those who mourn.” Mourning and sadness are not a sin, but an acceptable response when we encounter trials and tribulation. Even “Jesus wept” and mourned. John 11:35 (NIV).

During this season of Lent, my goal is to turn to God and turn away from the sin of anger; to seek His help in being more forgiving. I want to not take the easier path, but to take up my cross and follow Christ.

Psalm 4 – God My Righteousness

In pondering what Psalm to post for today, I decided to just start at Psalm 1 and post the first one in order that I had never posted before. Turns out I’ve already posted Psalms 1, 2, and 3, but have not posted Psalm 4. As I read through various translations on Biblegateway.com, I settled on the New Living Translation. Although the various translations are different, there are a couple of things about the NLT that speak to me.

First, in the first verse God is called the one “who declares me innocent.” Other translations refer to God as “my righteous God” or “God of my righteousness.” But this NLT translation, which is not substantively different from the other translations, states who God is to me in a way that ties in with some of the other posts I have written lately, including my post yesterday titled “Is a Little Faith Enough?“

Second, as one who has all my life struggled with controlling my anger and have been able to do so only with the help of God, verse 4 is a great reminder that my anger, if uncontrolled, only leads to sin. Other translations also admonish the reader to “not sin” but do not focus on anger as being a source of that sin.

There are other great verses in this Psalm, which is why I posted the whole thing, but these two are the most meaningful to me.

Psalm 4

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by stringed instruments.

 ¹ Answer me when I call to you,
      O God who declares me innocent.
   Free me from my troubles.
      Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

 ² How long will you people ruin my reputation?
      How long will you make groundless accusations?
      How long will you continue your lies?
                         Interlude

 ³ You can be sure of this:
      The Lord set apart the godly for himself.
      The Lord will answer when I call to him.

 ⁴ Don’t sin by letting anger control you.
      Think about it overnight and remain silent.
                         Interlude

 ⁵ Offer sacrifices in the right spirit,
      and trust the Lord.

 ⁶ Many people say, “Who will show us better times?”
      Let your face smile on us, Lord.
 ⁷ You have given me greater joy
      than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine.
 ⁸ In peace I will lie down and sleep,
      for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.

Learning to Forgive – A Poem

Many years ago the Lord taught me the importance of forgiving others. The command to forgive as we have been forgiven is not meant to be a burden, but rather a means of giving our burdens to God and lightening our spiritual load.

I never intended this blog to be a poetry blog, and I’m sure it will never exclusively be poetry, but I seem to be drawn to this medium lately. The other day this poem came to me about my own journey to forgiveness.

Learning to Forgive

I held it inside
The anger, the bitterness
I hated you
I blamed you for everything
For every tear and every dark cloud
Because of what you did
But you didn’t care
You didn’t even know
I only hurt me more

He let it all out
The anger, the wrath
It poured out with His blood
He loved me
He forgave me for everything
For every tear and every sin
In spite of what I did
But I didn’t care
I didn’t even know
I only hurt Him more

Then He showed me the way
To let go of the anger, the bitterness
To forgive as He has forgiven
To love as He loved me
I don’t hurt anymore

When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. Luke 23:33-34 (NIV).

9/20/11 Update: I linked this poem at dVerse Poets Pub for the Open Link Night Week 10.

 

 

Understanding Vindictiveness in the Psalms and Real Life

I’ve been reading (slowly) Reflections on the Psalms by C.S. Lewis. It is going slowly in part because, having read through chapter 4, I was compelled to go back and reread chapter 3. The title of chapter 3 is “The Cursings.” As is typical with Lewis, he begins this book by first addressing the more troubling aspects of his overall topic before getting on to the more palatable aspects. This chapter is sandwiched between the chapters on “Judgment in the Psalms” and “Death in the Psalms,” both of which were interesting and challenging.

But there was something about chapter 3 that seemed particularly interesting to me. There is something in this chapter that shines a light on the topic of mercy that I and some fellow bloggers have written about recently, and that light reveals a very different side of the equation.

First, what exactly does Lewis mean by the cursings? Some specific examples that he refers to include:

 ⁶ Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy;
   let an accuser stand at his right hand.
⁷ When he is tried, let him be found guilty,
   and may his prayers condemn him.
⁸ May his days be few;
   may another take his place of leadership.
⁹ May his children be fatherless
   and his wife a widow.
¹⁰ May his children be wandering beggars;
   may they be driven from their ruined homes.
¹¹ May a creditor seize all he has;
   may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.
¹² May no one extend kindness to him
   or take pity on his fatherless children.
¹³ May his descendants be cut off,
   their names blotted out from the next generation.
¹⁴ May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD;
   may the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
¹⁵ May their sins always remain before the LORD,
   that he may blot out their name from the earth.
Psalm 109:6-15 (NIV).

⁸ Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,
   happy is the one who repays you
   according to what you have done to us.
⁹ Happy is the one who seizes your infants
   and dashes them against the rocks.
Psalm 137:8-9 (NIV).

This sort of cursing, even of one’s enemies, seems quite harsh to Lewis, as it does to me. And yet there is something in me that imagines that God will treat the truly wicked in such a way. Those who abuse women and small children, those who commit murder and seem to have no remorse, and those who greedily swindle the elderly and the downtrodden out of their last penny, deserve such punishment, and so this type of cursing seems natural.

But when we read the words of Christ telling us to “ love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:43 (NIV)), it is difficult to reconcile this with the prayers of cursing that are found in the Psalms. I have often, in my own thinking, reconciled these seemingly conflicting notions with the understanding that the Psalmist trusted God to know when to answer the prayer of cursing because God knows the hearts of the enemy that is being cursed. I think Lewis has pondered out a better way to reconcile the cursings and the command to love, and shown the value of an attitude that might lead one to pray such a prayer in relation to the truly wicked.

Lewis tells a story of overhearing some soldiers during World War II who believed that their government had fabricated the evils of Hitler and the Nazi regime in order to “pep up” the troops; and yet those soldiers were not the least bit bothered by this. “That our rulers should falsely attribute the worst of crimes to some of their fellow-men in order to induce others of their fellow-men to shed their blood seemed to them a matter of course.” Reflections, pg. 29. Lewis argued that these uncaring soldiers were in a worse condition than the vindictive Psalmist because they had seemingly lost any moral compass of right and wrong. Although a vindictive reaction might be a sin, it at least indicated an awareness that a wrong had been committed.

Lewis goes on to write:

Thus the absence of anger, especially that sort of anger which we call indignation, can, in my opinion, be a most alarming symptom. And the presence of indignation may be a good one. Even when that indignation passes into bitter personal vindictiveness, it may still be a good symptom, though bad in itself. It is a sin; but it at least shows that those who commit it have not sunk below the level at which the temptation to that sin exists — just as the sins (often quite appalling) of the great patriot or the great reformer point to something in him above mere self. If the Jews cursed more bitterly than the Pagans this was, I think, at least in part because they took right and wrong more seriously. For if we look at their railings we find they are usually angry not simply because these things have been done to them but because these things are manifestly wrong, are hateful to God as well as to the victim. Reflections, pg. 30.

Of course, as Lewis also points out, the danger exists of letting one’s indignation over wrongs that are hateful to God turn into self-righteousness, spiritual pride, and persecuting zeal. As with many good intentions and aspirations, taken to an extreme hating sin can become the sin of hating the sinner, and forgetting one’s own sinful nature.

I still believe that the better course of action, when faced with someone who has committed an evil act, is to pray for their repentance and salvation. It is far better, in God’s kingdom, that the lost be found than that they be abandoned. But I am grateful to Lewis for shedding light on a different side of the indignation and vindictiveness I have seen expressed towards various “evil” people who have been in the news. That’s what I love about C.S. Lewis; I always find something in his writings that challenge my thinking and help me to better understand God and my fellow human beings.

Silence in the Face of Accusations

One of my favorite Old Testament prophecies about Jesus is found in Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12, titled “The Suffering and Glory of the Servant.” Within these words about what would happen to Jesus when He was crucified, we find this passage that holds for us a wonderful example of how we should respond to accusations, complaints, and persecution.

He was oppressed and afflicted,
   yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
   and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
   so he did not open his mouth.
Isaiah 53:7 (NIV).

This verse was fulfilled during Jesus’ “trial” before Pilate:

But when the leading priests and the elders made their accusations against him, Jesus remained silent. “Don’t you hear all these charges they are bringing against you?” Pilate demanded. But Jesus made no response to any of the charges, much to the governor’s surprise. Matthew 27:12-14 (NIV).

Sometimes in life, we face opposition. Others say things about us that are unkind, maybe not even true, in an attempt to provoke us or to get us into trouble with someone else. Jesus warned that we would face troubles and persecution, even that others might hate us because of Him. He told His disciples and us: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33b (NIV). So the fact that others unfairly complain about us and that we face troubles is not really all that surprising.

Painting hung at the Cathedral of St. John the Devine in New York City

What is important is how we respond in such situations. Jesus provided an example for us to follow when He remained silent before the accusations of the leading priests and elders. I have found that His example is a good one.

Many years ago in a previous job, I faced a situation in which someone unfairly suggested that I and the people I supervised were not doing our best. At the time, I did not follow Jesus’ example. Instead, I became very angry and basically chewed the person out in front of a bunch of other people. I am not proud of that moment, and within 30 minutes of storming out of the meeting I felt compelled to apologize to all those present. I had not been a good role model for my staff and I had not been a good witness for my Christian faith. That was also the end of any helpful relationship with the person I had yelled at.

I suppose I could say I was like Jesus when He overturned the tables of the money changers in the temple, and that my anger was righteous in that I was defending my staff; but that would just be making excuses for my own poor behavior.

I have since learned there is a better way to deal with complaints, accusations, and persecution. The better way is to follow Jesus’ example of staying calm in the face of opposition. Often, by staying calm and saying nothing until the time is right, we allow others to see the falsity of the accusations against us rather than being convinced by our angry response that the accusations must be true. The saying “Methinks the lady doth protest too much” from Hamlet comes to mind.

The natural reaction to being falsely accused or having someone complain about us is to want to vehemently defend ourselves against anything being said against us, but that natural reaction does not often work to our advantage; nor does it further the Kingdom of God because it does not show the difference faith in Him makes in our lives. Responding with Holy Spirit gentleness and self-control will go a long way.

So the next time you face opposition or accusations, remember Jesus’ example. Step back and pray about it, just as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane when He knew persecution was on its way. Then when complaints and false accusations come, remain calm and silent until the Holy Spirit bids you speak. When you do respond, do so with gentleness and self-control so that others might see the work of God within you, and He be glorified.

Lessons from My Laptop’s Demise

I had a post planned for yesterday, a summary of our last adult education class on discipleship and leadership. But I was delayed by the untimely demise of the hard drive on my laptop. It was the victim of a frustrated 15-year-old who couldn’t get a program to work and thought the laptop was tougher than it was.

Two lessons came out of this experience that I want to share. (Don’t worry, for those of you interested in the discipleship class summary, that’s still coming).

First, I was reminded of how grateful I am for my wonderful husband who is thoughtful, intelligent, and quite handy with computers in spite of no formal training. As soon as we realized the poor computer hard drive had bitten the dust, he went to work trying to fix my computer. He attempted to restore the hard drive with the data backed up on an external back-up drive we have. When that didn’t work, he got up first thing yesterday morning, removed the hard drive from the laptop, and headed out to our local computer store to purchase a new one. He found me a 500 gigabyte hard drive (almost twice the size I had) for a great price. He installed the hard drive in the laptop and restored all of my programs and data to the point they were at the last time it was backed up. I was able to check my email last night, but didn’t have time to post anything.

I seem to have forgotten lately how special my husband is. I’ve allowed myself to be irritated by little things that are of no consequence. I was reminded by this occurrence that what is important to me is important to him. I was reminded of how much he loves me.

The second lesson that came out of this experience was a bit more involved. As I mentioned, the demise of my hard drive was caused by my frustrated 15-year-old. He is a perfect example of that old adage “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” He sometimes exhibits the same frustration and short fuse I have since I was a child, and still do sometimes even now. I was reminded by this that I need to help him learn how to deal with his frustration in a more constructive manner. I know what has helped me to overcome my tendency to become easily frustrated, but I don’t think I have done a very good job of conveying what I have learned about this over the years to him.

Then this morning I was listening to my Christian playlist on my iPod. Just last week I added a CD by a band called Skillet, which my son listens to and recommended to me. They are a Christian band, but I haven’t had a chance to listen to the whole CD yet. So this morning, while I was getting dressed, their song “Monster” started playing. This is one of their songs that I have heard before, but I hadn’t paid attention to the words or thought about what made it a Christian song. At first listen, one would probably not think it is a Christian song. These are just some of the lyrics:

I feel it deep within, it’s just beneath the skin
I must confess that I feel like a monster
I hate what I’ve become, the nightmare’s just begun
I must confess that I feel like a monster

My secret side I keep hid under lock and key
I keep it caged but I can’t control it
‘Cause if I let him out he’ll tear me up, break me down
Why won’t somebody come and save me from this, make it end?

As I listened to it this morning, I was pondering what this song could mean from a Christian perspective. I realized that the “monster” is our sinful nature. The first step to realizing we need Christ is to realize that we all have a monster living “just beneath the skin.” This monster would like to tear us up and break us down. We all need someone to come save us! Just then the song ended and the very next song to play was “Consuming Fire” by Third Day:

Set this place on fire
Send your Spirit, Savior
Rescue from the mire
Show Your servant favor
Yesterday was the day that I was alone
Now I’m in the presence of Almighty God

I always have my iPod on shuffle, so I never know what will be next. I am convinced that God often takes control of what song will be next to help me learn something from the lyrics. In this case, the message I heard was that the answer to our struggle with the monster within, our struggle with our sinful nature (which can come out as frustration and a short fuse), is to call on God to send His Holy Spirit to rescue us from the mire and help us to overcome the monster.

Have I taught my son this truth as I should? He believes in Jesus, but I’m not sure I’ve helped him to understand the power of the Holy Spirit in his life. This is an important truth that must be passed on to the next generation. Have you passed this on to your children? I pray that you and I will ensure our children will spend now and forever in the presence of Almighty God, so that they will never be alone and never have to try to save themselves.

I was 24 hours without my laptop! It seemed like forever, and yet the blessings and wisdom that came from it were well worth it.

The Journey’s End

Do you ever have those days where you just feel like you haven’t made any progress at all in your Christian walk? You know you shouldn’t complain about little things, but you do it anyway? You know you have to let go of anger and bitterness, and you thought you had, but there it is again? You struggle with any one of a hundred different sins that humans struggle with and wonder if you have really changed at all?

I’ve had days like that, and I know some of my Christian friends, both in the real world and the blogosphere, have had those days, too. The feeling is encompassed wonderfully in the Casting Crowns song “East to West.”

Here I am, Lord, and I’m drowning in your sea of forgetfulness
The chains of yesterday surround me
I yearn for peace and rest
I don’t want to end up where You found me
And it echoes in my mind, keeps me awake tonight
I know You’ve cast my sin as far as the east is from the west
And I stand before You now as though I’ve never sinned
But today I feel like I’m just one mistake away from You leaving me this way

Jesus, can You show me just how far the east is from the west
’cause I can’t bear to see the man I’ve been come rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
’cause You know just how far the east is from the west
From one scarred hand to the other

I start the day, the war begins, endless reminding of my sin
Time and time again Your truth is drowned out by the storm I’m in
Today I feel like I’m just one mistake away from You leaving me this way

I know You’ve washed me white, turned my darkness into light
I need Your peace to get me through, to get me through this night
I can’t live by what I feel, but by the truth Your Word reveals
I’m not holding on to You, but You’re holding on to me
You’re holding on to me

My favorite line in this song is “I can’t live by what I feel, but by the truth Your Word reveals.” It reminds me that when I am struggling, when it seems like I just can’t let go of some behavior or feeling that I know is wrong, I need to turn to His Word. When I feel like maybe I’m not really changed at all, maybe I haven’t truly taken hold of my Savior, I need to remember that I trust in the One who does not lie. And His Word says that if I confess Jesus is Lord and believe God raised Him from the dead, I will be saved. Romans 10:9. His Word says that God loves me so much that if I believe in Jesus I will have eternal life. John 3:16. His Word says that He will send His Holy Spirit to dwell in me to guide and teach me. John 16:13.

Some days everything goes well and I’m on top of the world. Other days I struggle. I sometimes see my Christian friends struggle, too. But on those days when we struggle with our own sinfulness, with not yet being perfect, I think of what Paul wrote to the Philippians:

Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Philippians 1:3-6.

It is that last part that really helps. It reminds me that it’s okay if we are not perfect yet, if God is not yet finished with the good work He has begun in each one of us. Why? Because His Word says that He will be finished on “the day when Christ Jesus returns.” Since that day has not yet arrived, I know He’s not done and hasn’t given up on me.

So, my friend, if you are feeling like you are a failure, like you are just one mistake away from God leaving you this way, remember that He has promised He will finish the good work He has begun in your heart. And God always keeps His promises.

Anger Does Not Bring Righteousness

Recently I have been frustrated and upset by statements on blogs and in the media, as well as comments in both places, that show a hatred of Christians and Christianity. Some of this comes from ignorance about what Christians truly believe or how Christ has called us to live in the world. We are called stupid and intolerant, even hate mongers. Our beliefs are ridiculed as myth or worse, and it is suggested that no one with half a brain could actually be a Christian and believe that the Bible is really the Word of God.

My first instinct is to respond with my own comments about how wrong those who attack Christianity are. I feel angry, but I know bitterness and an angry response would not be pleasing to God. So I slow down and seek the counsel of wise Christians who remind me that what I am called to do is love even those who hate me and are my enemies.

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Luke 6:27-28.

Then I pray and ask God for wisdom. He reminds me that He warned us this would happen:

[Jesus said,] “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. John 15:18-21.

I am also reminded that being hated because I cling to Him is not a bad thing in the long run. In His famous beatitudes, Jesus said:

Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets. Luke 6:22-23.

Sometimes the lessons I must learn are difficult and challenging to my heart and soul. My sinful nature tries to take over and wants to pay back what has been dished out to me. My pride swells up and I become indignant over the accusation that I am not intelligent because I believe in God. I did, after all, graduate from law school cum laude. I went to a very prestigious college and graduated in the top 11% of my class. I am an excellent writer, and my logic and reasoning skills are superb. How dare someone suggest that I am stupid because of what I believe about the origin of the universe and who Jesus is! They are the stupid ones and I could prove them . . .

But that is not the Godly way. As James pointed out, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” James 1:19-20. This verse is actually my screen saver on my computer at work, and for good reason because I need to be reminded of it regularly. What I need to remember, too, is that those who attack Christians are lost. They don’t know God, but God knows them and wants to have a relationship with them. “The Lord . . . is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9. My own pride and indignation will not further His goal. Only love can accomplish it.