Let me tell you of probably the first time I put this into practice. There was a man in our church some years ago, (so don’t go thinking about my church now and try to work out who this could be) who was my thorn in the flesh. I realised later that this man was truly my self-appointed enemy. The one allowed by God from satan to torment me. He was opposing me as one of the pastors of the church and he was telling all kinds of lies behind my back and spreading rumours. I tried to do the biblical thing and go to him to sort it all out. He told me to my face that he knew my motivations and that he knew he was right. Well that created an interesting impasse right there. He knew my motivations when I didn’t necessarily know them all myself, but I won’t discuss that now. There was no reasoning with him; his mind was made up. I had to let it go. There was nothing I could do about it. Or was there? I found in the first period of time the issue would eat me up inside. I had to pass his house on the way to the church and I would find myself making faces at his house as I passed by and grrr’ing. You know what I mean I am sure. This “issue” had got “under my skin”. I knew I now had a problem. But God led me through the path to recovery.
“Ian, the first step is to forgive him.” Ok I can cope with that. Show me how Lord. At first my “I forgive him” was said through clenched teeth. But then gradually over a period of time I came to truly forgive him. I told him that to his face one day. It made absolutely no difference to him at all. He was confirmed in his conclusions and his attitude toward me. No great outcome or testimony there. Then God showed me the next step. Love him as I love him. Trust Me in this Ian and watch Me work it out. So I took a risk and did just that. It worked; primarily in me! Oh the man speaks to me now, smiles at me when we meet. To all looking on it would seem Ian and X have a harmonious relationship. But it all stems from me taking a risk to love him no matter what his reaction to me. At first his reaction was to confirm him in his opposition to me. Then it was guarded indifference, followed by plain indifference, followed by tolerance and lastly now acceptance of me as his brother in Christ but no more. We are not best of buddies or close friends because of the blockage there on his part. But he accepts the fact that I can love him with Christ’s kind of love. I am not sure what it has done for him. Maybe not much, but it has made a world of difference for me in my ability to love the unlovely and to do good to those who treat me with spite. I haven’t got to the point where someone has slapped me on the cheek and I have offered the other cheek to them, because no one has slapped me on the cheek yet. (By commenting on it in Bible Gem I am not inviting you to do that but I trust you get my point and I don’t get your slap on my cheek to test me.)