How Should I Respond?
I don’t know about you, but whenever I feel wrongfully treated, there is a temptation in me to want to defend and justify myself. In times where someone believes slander or a lie about me, I have a strong desire to prove them wrong and set the record straight. But the question I struggle with is, “Is this the right response God is wanting me to take or is this my flesh and pride getting in the way?” As I find myself in a season dealing with these situations, wrestling with the right way to respond so that the truth about me is seen, God led me to Matthew 12 to the example of Jesus.
For context, there is a hot topic of discussion surrounding the do’s and don’ts of the Sabbath. Jesus’ disciples have just been witnessed picking and eating some heads of grain on the Sabbath because they were hungry and He does not stop them. Some religious leaders who witnessed this have expressed their opinions on how they believe this breaks the Law. Under their scrutiny, Jesus refers them to examples found in the scriptures that exposes their misunderstanding of what it means to keep God’s Law. He even proves He is Lord of the Sabbath by healing a man with a shriveled hand, but even that doesn’t persuade them of the truth. In fact, they leave to go plot His murder (see Matthew 12:1-14) Then we read….
“Jesus was aware of this and withdrew. Large crowds followed Him, and He healed them all. He warned them not to make Him known, so that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled” (Matthew 12:15-17 CSB)
He knew they wanted Him dead so wisely He removed Himself; however, their desires for His murder did not keep Him from His mission and ministry of healing all those who came to Him. Healing a large crowd should have been proof enough of the truth, but notice He does not use that as His weapon in retaliation. Rather, His sole focus in this moment, in the midst of people plotting His death and demise, was on fulfilling the word of the Lord spoken through the prophet Isaiah. By completing what Scriptures said, rather than focusing on defending Himself, the truth and His identity were also proven. In other words, God was telling me if I put Him first and make living out His truth my focus, He will focus His attention on affirming the truth surrounding me.
Now I have my answer on how to respond set forth by Jesus’s example. God’s Word calls me to….
…..walk in love
“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” Matthew 5:44 (ESV)
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35 (ESV)
….seek good and not harm
“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.…” (Luke 6:35a ESV)
…..bear good fruit
“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” John 15:8 (ESV)
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:22-24 ESV)
….choose forgiveness
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32 (ESV)
I must admit this has not always been easy. My flesh wants to fight against my obedience to this. But by choosing to focus on fulfilling these things, I have found a change happening within me. Instead of being consumed in my mind with negative thoughts that work in tandem with the hurt and pain I was feeling, I have a new found freedom (John 8:34-36). If you can relate, I hope this encourages you to join me in following Christ’s example with a renewed focus on how to respond.
