54When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; 56for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” And they went on to another village.
Luke 9:54–56 (NASB95)
I’ve recently found myself on the receiving end of criticism. Not personally, but the church I serve. Perhaps that’s worse. The criticism is baseless and erupted into some false allegations being thrown around. It would be easy to become angry and want to set the record straight.
That’s where I found myself. As I listened to friends being maligned and the Church (big C) being slandered, there was something ugly that kept rising within me. I could try to rename it as “righteous indignation” or some “weak moment of human passion;” however, it was strong and did not just go away like a “weak moment. Truth be known, I wanted to act out. This is where the lesson from the Lord began.
I think it was important for the Lord to show me that my heart is a broken place. Sure, as a pastor, I would love to say that I just glide across the sea regardless of the tempest or the turbulence of the sea. But it simply is not true and that is important to see. The same anger and desire to “fix” injustice that provoked the critics resided in my heart as well.
Apparently, I am not alone. In the passage above, the “sons of thunder” as they were nicknamed…two of Jesus’ closest disciples saw the rejection of the Lord as an act of terrible dishonor. And to add insult to injury…by a bunch of “Samaritans” no less! How dare they? So, the disciples asked, “Should we call on God to destroy them with fire from heaven?”
When “the world” maligned Jesus…the disciples wanted to fight. They wanted to answer swiftly and strongly…in such a way that everyone would know that God had chosen against the Samaritans…but Jesus said He came to save rather than destroy.
Furthermore, Jesus said the very spirit that informed the disciple’s desires was not righteous indignation but ungodly and evil. Up from their heart rose the wickedness of sin…no matter how you dress it up. They were the embodiment of that which they purported to hate!
And that is the point. Jesus used the criticism to reveal the brokenness of my heart. The difference being…I have Jesus to lovingly do that and to graciously forgive. Many others…in fact most people…do not.
Lord, forgive my wickedness and soften my heart to reflect more of You. Thank you for graciously reminding me that compassion begins with an awareness that “but for the grace of God, there go I.” Amen.
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