And while He yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss Him. But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of Man with a kiss? When they which were about Him saw what would follow, they said unto Him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword? And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And He touched his ear, and healed him. Luke, Chapter 22, verses 47-51.
I don’t know if I could do something nice like heal a person who was part of a plot to kill me. I’ve been known to remember situations for over twenty years where someone has been rude or hurtful to me, yet I am dependent on Jesus’ forgiving nature. If He remembered all my sins the same way I have harbored resentments toward others, there’s no way I would ever make it to heaven. He forgives me over and over, even when I don’t deserve His forgiveness. He is there loving me when I find it difficult to love myself. I’m so fortunate to have Jesus as my Savior and Redeemer.
I write these things and find I’m very two-faced. I say things like Savior and Redeemer in my writing and realize that I would never be caught dead saying these things in public. I think that’s because I don’t want to sound like a religious fanatic to others. I might say that I love Jesus, but that’s usually as far as my profession of faith goes. I need to pay attention because I could be faced with Jesus saying, “I love Debbie, but I can’t allow her to have Salvation because she is afraid to risk the condemnation of others. She is afraid that if she says I’m her Savior and Redeemer, others will think she is a religious fanatic! What a shame. She had such potential, but if she can’t acknowledge Me, I don’t feel obliged to acknowledge her. Such a shame!”
Actually, this reminds me about the passage I had just written where Simon Peter denied Jesus three times. Well, Simon Peter still received Salvation, because he learned from his mistakes and realized how terrible it was that he had denied Jesus. Simon Peter turned his life around where he became someone who readily proclaimed his love for Jesus. Now I need to be able to do the same. I need to turn my life around and not hide behind my fear of what people will think of me. I’m still very weak as a Two-Faced Christian in this area and need to ask that God gives me the willingness to let Him guide my actions and my words, now and always, not just when it’s comfortable.
Since this is an example of the positive influence God has made on my walk with Christ, this may not reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verses.
