22-23"Count yourself blessed every time someone cuts you down or throws you out, every time someone smears or blackens your name to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and that that person is uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—skip like a lamb, if you like!—for even though they don't like it, I do . . . and all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company; my preachers and witnesses have always been treated like this.
I've had plenty of my share of this going on throughout my life. Probably the time I remember best was sitting at a table in a study hall, when I was in high school.
More recently, I asked someone about their relationship with God, via Facebook -- and got attacked from every side from this person's friends, who felt I had asked an inappropriate question in an inappropriate way. They weren't just harsh in their criticism of what I had asked. They were sarcastic, just plain mean, and they made fun of me. Kind of like high school all over again -- or maybe grade school.
Most recently, I've been having a conversation with a close family member about a life situation. And as usual, I ended up swinging the truth around like some kind of bludgeoning club. I didn't mean to do that -- I had been trying to be gentle all along.
But the truth sometimes is a big thing and hard to handle. When I start quoting statistics of real life, or I start listing the real lives of people as examples, the truth can start to loom up and knock even me -- the one who's speaking it -- down.
Needless to say, I have not been skipping around like a lamb. I have felt like dirt (or less). I have felt defeated, and belittled, and stupid and just plain wrong. I have felt as if I should just keep my opinions to myself. I have felt like a big, fat troublemaker that everyone else wishes would just go away and leave them alone.
But when I read this passage, I was encouraged. Leave it to Jesus, huh? I am smiling when I read that all heaven rejoices when the truth is put out there. I am encouraged that I am in good company. When Hunk O Man once asked me why I was such a pessimist, I reminded him that Jeremiah the Prophet was probably no picnic to be around either. (I have the spiritual gift of prophecy -- essentially "truth telling" in the present day).
Let me be clear here -- God has not called me to be a pessimist or to go around beating people over the head with truth. The Bible and God's Word are not weapons that we use to hurt people. I have to check and recheck my motives with God on a second-by-second basis. Truth spoken without love is simply brutality.
But the truth spoken in love is not just a big help -- it is life itself. It's like somebody stuck you with an IV of medicine; the stick hurts, but the medicine makes you well.
It is easy to get overwhelmed with the reactions of people around us, especially when they don't like what we're saying. It's very easy for me to just get my feelings hurt. It is difficult for me personally to remember that it's the truth they don't like, not me. They are not shooting at the messenger -- I'm just in the way.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, Lover of my soul -- for this encouragement today. You know how much I needed it.
xoxoxox
I like this very much. Thanks for sharing it.
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