"But I say to you who hear..."

Well God definitely had a lesson in his plans for me yesterday...

So some drama went down yesterday between some friends and someone said a few words that were very unnecessary, and some people got very wrongly accused... and some feelings got very hurt. Well, for me I'm one to speak my mind. For the most part I know when to keep my mouth closed but sometimes I really have to try not to say too much because as wrong as this is, I like to have the last word if someone has accused me wrongly. It's not normally an issue, but sometimes I really have to work and pray that God will give me patience and the right words in those types of situations.

'WELL HELLO!'... I feel like that's what God was saying to me last night... Jesus, the PERFECT, son of God was totally wrongly accused of so many more things and paid such a higher price than I'll probably ever in my life be accused of and I'll never pay the price he paid. So why am I so upset about being accused of something so little that has no matter in the grand scheme of things? Well.. to be honest... I'm human. I'm not perfect. I'm forgiven... but as a Christian I need to learn from this.

Yup. Wake up call right there. Thank you God for that reminder last night. In Luke 6, chapter 27 starts the 'Love for Enemies' section. Perfect. Because last night I was feeling like one of my best friends had turned into an enemy (well, not really an 'enemy,' but I felt like I had been wronged by them)... so I guess it relates. Anyways, This is what 27-36 read:

27 "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.29 Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.34 If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Well --  I think the most influential part of that to me is the part that says, "for even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is THAT to you? For even sinners do the same." It makes so much sense... how are we as Christians supposed to stand out in this world and make a difference if we act JUST like those who aren't Christians and Love those who Love us but Hate those who Hate us (or have wrongly accused us... in my case)?

God really laid that lesson on my heart last night as I was fired up about being accused and I was truly hurt. He told me that there is so much more to be concerned about than worrying about something so small but that as a Christian I am called to do these things above.

It's funny (well not funny or a coincidence... I know God had a plan for this lesson) because today is the day that I am focusing on the 'Pray For The Traffickers' section of the A21 Campaign's Prayer Guide. They declared Jan. 11-21 as a time of fasting and prayer and getting involved in making a difference for Human Trafficking.

I've really been focusing on the victims and praying and fasting on their behalf, but God says to, "Love your enemies." I can't make it any more clear than how the bible states it above. Technically these traffickers are not directly MY enemies... but they SO are! Geez -- the more I learn about Human Trafficking, the more I want to bust down some doors and kick some butt! I don't really feel like that's my calling, but who knows... maybe one day!

But the prayer guide breaks down praying for the traffickers like this: Pray for conviction, repentance & salvation; for criminal networks to dismantle; and for the oppressors to be arrested & prosecuted. Well those are pretty specific, huh!? But if we are all coming together and truly lifting these words up with one unified voice, that's when we will start seeing change! These verses always come to mind:

19 "Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." -Matt 18: 19-20

If together as Christians we can all be praying with one voice, God is with them and what they ask for will be done. This is so powerful! I will go into more detail about the verses that go along with the prayer topics for the traffickers, but that will be another day. You can find them here.

I'm so thankful that I was reminded about loving my enemies (and people you feel like you've been wronged by) on the same day that I was focusing on praying for the traffickers. They are the enemy but they are also humans and as many awful or horrific things they do, God loves them and they CAN be saved! Think about a testimony of a trafficker once they have been saved and their eyes are opened to the dirtiness and darkness they were submersed in!? They may have never heard of Jesus! They may have no clue that what they are doing is wrong (which I'm pretty sure most of them know, but who knows-- maybe the culture they were brought up in taught them that slavery was okay). It's hard to understand this and obviously every time I hear another trafficking story, I want to bust out some Jack Bauer moves (from the TV show '24'), but right now I am being called to pray. For every aspect of this Human Trafficking cycle.

I hope that as Christians we can learn to be more loving to our enemies. I'm not saying we should agree with their acts or think that what they do is okay, but we can pray for them. This is a hard lesson but I know God knew what was happening when I was upset last night.

Thank you for those little reminders, God! May our eyes be opened to see them more and hear teach us more! The first words in the 'Love your enemies' section of Luke read, "But I say to you who HEAR..." Yes... we must be open to hearing and learning these things. If we don't want to, we probably won't.