by: Cris Corzine-McCloskey
Over the past two blogs we have been laying some groundwork on the need to empty our hearts of offense and unforgiveness. And while some people may go through life looking for reasons to get angry and offended, most of us would prefer a life devoid of these feelings. But how do we do that in a world that is insensitive on a good day and downright cruel on the next. We have a couple of options here. The world’s way is to avoid people and self-protect. God’s way, however, is far more effective.
For starters, lets examine why we get offended so easily. In my opinion it is because we were designed to take something very personally, namely our relationship with God. Look at Adam and Eve before sin entered the world. They walked with God on a regular basis. They took their relationship with their Creator very personal, and from that they were able to be completely vulnerable to each other (naked and unashamed) without fear or self-protection. Beautiful! They knew who they were and who’s they were, and that was enough. Indeed, it was Eve taking the possibility that God was holding out on her (getting offended) that brought the fall. The first offense, and it was based on a lie. I think what we can glean from that is that offense is one of the first fruits of the fall. Hmmm, I wonder if we have a pattern.
Since the fall, offense has been a way of life for us mortals, because now we take the things of the world and each other personal. Cain and Abel are a perfect example. Only one generation out from walking with God and we have offense that led to murder. Tragic, to say the least. And it only takes a cursory glance at the Bible to see that after that dye was cast offense becomes a recurring theme throughout the bible. You can even find it in most of the Patriarchs. Does that mean it’s human nature and we can’t escape it? I don’t think so, because along came Jesus, who, though God, was also human, to show us a better way.
Jesus showed us that He, like us, was designed to take things personal, and He did. He took every word out of His Father’s mouth so personal that it enabled Him to walk offense free on this planet. For example, at the launch of His ministry He was baptized, and when He came up out of the water the Father spoke in a loud voice, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I’m well pleased” (Luke 3:22). Jesus must have taken those words very personal, because immediately following He went in to the wilderness and whooped the devil. Right after that He launched His public ministry by speaking at His hometown Synagogue. Their response? They tried to throw Him off a cliff (Luke 4:29). Had that been us we would have gone home and wailed to God…’They hate me Dad, and I don’t like them either! Bunch of losers, let them save themselves!’ But not Jesus, because He was busy protecting Himself from offense the right way, and taking all the right things personal. We can’t love people we are offended by, not fully anyway, because 1 Corinthians 13 reminds us that love keeps no record of wrongs.
Next blog we will look at just how Jesus took the right things personal, and what that enabled Him to do here. Till then remember, you are designed to take God personal, and He thinks you are amazing! Live in the Father’s love and you, too, will be hard to offend.
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