Grieving God's Heart

"If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you."

~1 Peter 4:14

I've seen a lot in life. I've seen things I wish I hadn't. I've seen things I hope no one else ever does. There's not much in this world that surprises or shocks me, except people. And not just the average non-Christian running amok, but people who profess to be Christians and love God. Yet their actions and words of their mouth show the opposite.

"But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so (James 3:8-10)."

For Christians, our lives are to be modeled after Christ. To walk in love, to be at peace with others, and to show others through our words and deeds that we follow Jesus. Our goal is to bring the light of Jesus into the lives of a desperate and decaying world. So what do we accomplish by attacking other believers? Is that showing Christ in you? Is that appealing to anyone who doesn't know Christ? And what does it say about you if all you can do is criticize and condemn?

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear (Ephesians 4:29)."

There is so much trash in the world, and as Christians, we have to be above it. We serve one God in Jesus Christ. We are saved by the same Spirit, and it is the same blood at Calvary that Jesus shed for us all. When I hear Christians bad-mouth other Christians, it makes me sad because it grieves the very heart of God. This should not be so among believers in Christ.

"See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone (1 Thessalonians 5:15)."

Read 2 Samuel 12-14; 1 Thessalonians 5

©2018 Marie McGaha