Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. Matthew 5:43-45
A very long time ago, in a small Italian village, a man called Tony had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a moneylender. The moneylender who was old, ugly and mean, was captivated by Tony's gorgeous and charming daughter, so he proposed a solution to Tony. He said he would forgo Tony's debt if he could marry his daughter. Both Tony and his daughter were horrified at just the thought of her marrying the moneylender.
However, the grantor continued with his offer. He would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty bag. The girl would then have to pick one pebble from the bag. If she picked the black pebble, she would become the lenders wife and her father's debt would be forgiven. If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven. But -- if she refused to pick a pebble her father would be thrown into prison until the debt could be paid in full.
They were standing on a pathway that was spread with pebbles in Tony's garden. As they talked the moneylender had bent over and picked up two pebbles. As he picked them up however, the keen-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked Tony's daughter to pick her pebble from the bag.
Now -- this begs the question -- "What would you do in this situation?" Would you get angry and point out the moneylenders dishonesty -- Would you grab the bag and show the man how corrupt he was -- Would you beat the elderly man??? What would you do?? Let's see what the girl did:
Tony's daughter put her hand into the brokers bag and drew out a pebble. Quickly and without looking at it, she fumbled and let the pebble fall on the pathway that was full of them. Immediately, it became lost among all the other pebbles.
"Oh, how very clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind, if you look into your bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked." Since the leftover pebble was black, it would be assumed that the pebble she had picked was the white one. And since the financier dared not admit his dishonesty -- the girl was able to change what seemed to be an impossible situation into what became a favorable outcome.
When we learn to trust God's Word and act upon it -- the Holy Spirit will speak a new way into our hearts and minds. It is so easy for us to hate our enemies and want to destroy them -- But, God tells us to love them! We want our enemies to bring out the best in us, never the worst. We want always, to strive and bring joy, love and our faith into every situation.
This is exactly what God does -- He lets the sun shine on the good and the bad. He allows the rains to fall on the everyone, regardless if they nasty or nice. If we only do good to those we love -- how will we grow in Christ Jesus? For even the world can do that!
If someone is giving you a hard time, be kind and respond with an internal prayer for God to show you what to do! If you will submit to Him, He will guide you and help you to do what that which is loving and kind.
Our most complex problems do have solutions -- we just have to see them and think about them the way God would!
A very long time ago, in a small Italian village, a man called Tony had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a moneylender. The moneylender who was old, ugly and mean, was captivated by Tony's gorgeous and charming daughter, so he proposed a solution to Tony. He said he would forgo Tony's debt if he could marry his daughter. Both Tony and his daughter were horrified at just the thought of her marrying the moneylender.
However, the grantor continued with his offer. He would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty bag. The girl would then have to pick one pebble from the bag. If she picked the black pebble, she would become the lenders wife and her father's debt would be forgiven. If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven. But -- if she refused to pick a pebble her father would be thrown into prison until the debt could be paid in full.
They were standing on a pathway that was spread with pebbles in Tony's garden. As they talked the moneylender had bent over and picked up two pebbles. As he picked them up however, the keen-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked Tony's daughter to pick her pebble from the bag.
Now -- this begs the question -- "What would you do in this situation?" Would you get angry and point out the moneylenders dishonesty -- Would you grab the bag and show the man how corrupt he was -- Would you beat the elderly man??? What would you do?? Let's see what the girl did:
Tony's daughter put her hand into the brokers bag and drew out a pebble. Quickly and without looking at it, she fumbled and let the pebble fall on the pathway that was full of them. Immediately, it became lost among all the other pebbles.
"Oh, how very clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind, if you look into your bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked." Since the leftover pebble was black, it would be assumed that the pebble she had picked was the white one. And since the financier dared not admit his dishonesty -- the girl was able to change what seemed to be an impossible situation into what became a favorable outcome.
When we learn to trust God's Word and act upon it -- the Holy Spirit will speak a new way into our hearts and minds. It is so easy for us to hate our enemies and want to destroy them -- But, God tells us to love them! We want our enemies to bring out the best in us, never the worst. We want always, to strive and bring joy, love and our faith into every situation.
This is exactly what God does -- He lets the sun shine on the good and the bad. He allows the rains to fall on the everyone, regardless if they nasty or nice. If we only do good to those we love -- how will we grow in Christ Jesus? For even the world can do that!
If someone is giving you a hard time, be kind and respond with an internal prayer for God to show you what to do! If you will submit to Him, He will guide you and help you to do what that which is loving and kind.
Our most complex problems do have solutions -- we just have to see them and think about them the way God would!
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