Take Down Offense (Am I Offended?) Day 3 of 5

From Am I Offended? by John Bevere on YouVersion

Offense is taken down when we see the world clearly. Jesus said our ability to see correctly is another key to freedom from deception. When we are offended, we often see ourselves as victims and blame those who have hurt us. We justify our bitterness, unforgiveness, anger, envy, and resentment as they surface. Sometimes we even resent those who remind us of others who have hurt us.

I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so  you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. – Revelation 3:18

For this reason, Jesus counseled, “Anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see”. See what? Your true condition! That’s the only way we can “be zealous and repent,” as Jesus commanded next. You will only repent when you stop blaming other people.

When we blame others and defend our own position, we are blind. We struggle to remove the speck from our brother’s eye while there is a log in ours. It is the revelation of truth that brings freedom to us. When the Spirit of God shows us our sin, He always does it so that it seems separate from us. This brings conviction, not condemnation.

Without God, we can only love with a selfish love—one that cannot be given if it is not received and returned. However, agape loves regardless of the response. This agape is the love Jesus shed when He forgave from the cross. So “the many” Jesus refers to are Christians whose agape has grown cold.

You need to realize that when you sow the love of God, you will reap the love of God. You need to develop faith in this spiritual law— even though you may not harvest it from the field in which you sowed or as quickly as you would like.

He explained, “For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” – Galatians 6:8–9.

If more Christians recognized this, they wouldn’t give up and become offended. Usually, this is not the type of love we walk in. We walk in a selfish love that is easily disappointed when our expectations are unmet.

A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a castle. —Proverbs 18:19

We construct walls when we are hurt to safeguard our hearts and prevent any future wounds. We become selective, denying entry to all we fear will hurt us. We filter out anyone we think owes us something. We withhold access until these people have paid their debts in full. We open our lives only to those we believe are on our side.

The focus of offended Christians is inward and introspective. We guard our rights and personal relationships carefully. Our energy is consumed with making sure no future injuries will occur. If we don’t risk being hurt, we cannot give unconditional love. Unconditional love gives others the right to hurt us.

Love does not seek its own, but hurt people become more and more self-seeking and self-contained.

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