the only thing i see on the news (it seems) is violence. and a huge issue in our schools today is violence. and i talk to teenage girls who are either indirectly involved in violence or have themselves struggled with violence. all forms of violence- from fist-fighting to yelling to cursing... you get it...
anger. rage. hate. revenge. malice.
to change the subject (and hopefully tie the two subjects back in together later)... Jesus was probably the coolest human being you could ever hear about. i've read about a lot of cool people, and some of them are definitely worth emulating. but no one has ever come close to being anything like Jesus.
not only did Jesus have a brilliant mind, but he learned (and showed us by example) how to master the roller-coaster that is human emotion. i'm sure there were millions of times he felt anger, and i know for a fact that he was treated cruely and had every right to be filled with rage. but Jesus was an incredibly calm man. he was a man that would exude peace into a crowd just by walking into it. he was nothing but gentle, nothing but kind, nothing but peaceful. no matter what the circumstance.
he was betrayed by one of his best friends, and the bible recounts the story of peter pulling out a sword and cutting off a slave's ear (trying to pick a fight, basically) out of his anger. (luke chapter 22) Jesus was about to be hauled off by these men, and instead of lashing out- he healed the servant's ear, and told peter to put his sword away.
i wonder what would happen in our high schools if, when one of us was punched or spit on, instead of fighting back, we would stop and pray, and ask God to heal the situation.
Jesus was anything but violent. as a matter of fact, the only sign of any form of "anger" that the bible gives us is when Jesus finds people selling common items inside of the temple. i'm sure he was insulted, hurt, and completely heartbroken. he reacted by toppling all of the tables over and saying (in what i think would be a dissapointed/frustrated cry) "the scriptures declare- my house will be called a house of prayer! but you have turned it into a den of thieves!" (matthew chapter 21)
it's also worth noting that immediately after doing this, the blind and the lame began pouring into the temple for Jesus to heal them. he was the picture of love and grace.
what i'm getting at is... if rage and hatred and anger fuel you to react in violence, then something is wrong. if you can't walk away from a fight, or if you can't turn off the TV instead of watching violence (which, in turn, makes you more comfortable around it), or if you can't choose to stay calm instead of getting angry... you need to evaluate your own heart and see if the peace of Jesus is really inside of you.
maybe this blog isn't for someone like you.... i know i'm not a violent person, but i've been exposed to it by some people who really need peace. if it IS for you, i'd like to pray with you. if not, find someone who needs prayer for their issues with violence. you probably already know a few people without even searching.
let's be nothing but gentle. nothing but kind. nothing but peaceful, no matter the circumstance.
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