Dear Friends,
As one who loves the Lord, I have sometimes been tempted to defend Him against angry and sometimes unfounded attacks from people. After all, isn’t it necessary to defend those we love? What I have discovered over the years is that in the case of those who need our help in defending them, the answer is yes. But when it comes to the all-knowing and all-powerful God who “laughs” when “the nations conspire and the people’s plot in vain” (Psalm 2:1-6), it’s a very different story. The thought of me defending such a God actually seems rather silly! Sort of like an ant thinking it needs to (or can!) defend an elephant!
Do I challenge some ideas and thoughts people put forth? Yes. Do I now try to do it calmly and graciously? Yes. Why? Because oftentimes the person antagonistic to God is actually hoping for an angry tirade from believers. It helps them justify their unbelief. Many former church goers (I have found) actually received such a response when they expressed some honest doubts they were having and said that such a response actually drove them away from God. After all, angry responses are often evidence of an inner fear, insecurity, or faltering faith in the one who is responding. A faith that is itself teetering on the edge of collapse.
As one who loves the Lord, I have sometimes been tempted to defend Him against angry and sometimes unfounded attacks from people. After all, isn’t it necessary to defend those we love? What I have discovered over the years is that in the case of those who need our help in defending them, the answer is yes. But when it comes to the all-knowing and all-powerful God who “laughs” when “the nations conspire and the people’s plot in vain” (Psalm 2:1-6), it’s a very different story. The thought of me defending such a God actually seems rather silly! Sort of like an ant thinking it needs to (or can!) defend an elephant!
Do I challenge some ideas and thoughts people put forth? Yes. Do I now try to do it calmly and graciously? Yes. Why? Because oftentimes the person antagonistic to God is actually hoping for an angry tirade from believers. It helps them justify their unbelief. Many former church goers (I have found) actually received such a response when they expressed some honest doubts they were having and said that such a response actually drove them away from God. After all, angry responses are often evidence of an inner fear, insecurity, or faltering faith in the one who is responding. A faith that is itself teetering on the edge of collapse.
Therefore, I offer you this short but poignant devotion from “Our Daily Bread,” written by Tim Gustafson. I couldn’t agree with him more! Enjoy.
“The anti-God bumper stickers covering the car in front of him seized the attention of a university professor. As a former atheist himself, the professor thought perhaps the owner wanted to make believers angry. “The anger helps the atheist justify his atheism,” he explained. Then he warned, “All too often, the atheist gets exactly what he is looking for.”
In recalling his own journey to faith, this professor noted the concern of a Christian friend who invited him to consider the truth of Christ. His friend’s, “sense of urgency was conveyed without a trace of anger.” He never forgot the genuine respect and grace he received that day.
Believers in Jesus often take offense when people reject Him. But how does He feel about that rejection? Jesus constantly faced threats and hatred, yet He never took doubt about His deity personally. Once, when a village refused Him hospitality, James and John wanted instant retaliation. “Lord,” they said, “do you want us to call down fire from heaven to destroy them?” (Luke 9:54). Jesus didn’t want that, and He, “turned and rebuked them” (v. 55). After all, “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him” (John 3:17).
It may surprise us to consider that God doesn’t need us to defend Him. Rather, He wants us to represent Him! That takes time, work, restraint, and love.
Prayer: Lord, when we are confronted with hate, help us not to be haters in return, but to respond as Your Son did: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
The best way to defend Jesus is to be like Him.”
A recent poll by the National Institute for Civil Discourse discovered that 94% of Americans believe we have a civility problem. 75% said they believe it’s at a crisis level. Maybe what we need is a refresher course in the book of Proverbs. “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Or again, “A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back” (Prov. 29:11). And we must not forget Proverbs 16:32: “Whoever is slow to anger is better than a warrior, and he who controls his temper is greater than one who captures a city.”
One of the Fruit of the Spirit is self-control – which includes our words and emotions. Yet, when it comes to possible anger at insults to God, it also helps us to realize that God is much more capable of defending Himself than we are. Maybe that’s why He simply calls us to be His ambassadors (II Cor. 5:20) and represent Him, rather than defend Him, or worse yet, respond in a hostile manner toward those who are hostile to Him.
After all, it's rarely our responses, answers, or rational arguments that make the difference with people anyway. It’s the love and concern they sense from us in our interaction with them – even when they know we are speaking about things where we disagree greatly.
Oh, that we might be more like Him, Pastor Jeff
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