Your Offense is not a Good Defense

Your Offense is not a Good Defense
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, 5 it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres.
People seem to be demanding respect and mercy but refused to do the same for others. Also, they are more focus on themselves then needs of others.
Let me ask you something. Do you act like the world and get offended and seek revenge by gossiping for example? Its time for Christians to grow up and start separating themselves from the world. I’m not talking about moving away to a remote area. What I am talking about is walking in Love. If you are going to grow up Spiritually your going to have to do more than read the Bible once in awhile and go to Church on Sunday. And, pray to God only before meals. I’m not trying to offend any one, but it’s time to get out of our warm, comfortable Christian rut.
Rev 3:15-16
15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
It is a shame to say that a lot of Christians are warm and comfortable with the way they are. They use the excuse ‘No one is perfect’but Jesus wants all of us to continue learning and growing in His Word.

Eph 4:13-16
13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
I believe that the first step in growing up Spiritually is learning how to walk in love.
Matt 5:43-48
43 "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
When I decided to make a commitment to walk in love no matter what, it seemed as If everyone was out to get me. It was a nightmare but I was wide-awake. I thought that there was no way I could carry out Matt. 5:43-48. No stinken way! But I knew down in my heart that Jesus wouldn’t tell us to do something that we would not be able to do. So, after I battled that in my mind for awhile I finally gave in. I asked Jesus to please help me walk in love. Because, I had such a hot temper. I knew I could not walk in love on my own strength.
I worked at a maintenance base that worked on airplanes. I cleaned the airplanes while the mechanics worked on them. There were several docks in which the planes are parked. And, I had worked on one certain dock for about a year. I got to know some of the mechanics. This one mechanic for instances would always ask me if I were going to do anything that day. And I would joke back and say something like I don’t know we are going to have to wait and see.
Then, one morning I asked him, "Are you going to do anything today?" He got so mad at me and practically cussed me out (he couldn’t use cuss words because you could get fired for that) and told me what was what then he looks at his buddy’s with a smirk and said, "I told her."
You could hear a pin drop on that plane. The other mechanics was looking at me wonder what I was going to say or do next.
These entire mechanics knew that I was a Christian. Because I would carry a small radio around with me and listen to all of the preaching on the radio. Which drove them up a wall. They would have their radios on blaring threw out the cabin and sometimes I had to hold my radio up to my ear in order to hear it.
And, what’s so funny that during one of our short brakes I would go in the back of the airplane to listen to my radio because the mechanics would be up front. Then, the next thing I know the mechanics that was up front moved in the back by me. So, I would get up and move up front to keep from disturbing them because they made it plain and clear how much they couldn’t stand to listen to all of that preaching. Then, once again between preachers I would look up and those mechanics was sitting around me again.
Anyway, after that guy told me off. The Lord brought to my remembrance Matthew 5:43-48. I looked at him and said, "You must be having a bad day let me buy you a coke." Then I took 50 cents out of my pocket. He grabbed that money as if he didn’t have a dime to his name. Then he ran off the airplane as fast as he could.
I didn’t see him again until after lunch. He came up to me and was as sweet as pie. He didn’t apologize for the way he acted but his actions toward me was enough. He was just falling all over himself to be nice to me. Then he told me that he had received a ‘Word of Faith’ magazine and he found it very interesting.
Can you imagine how things would have turned out if I hadn’t walk in love toward this man? He might had gone home and throw the "Word of Faith" in the trash and not think another thing about it since a "Christian woman acted just like every one else" and the other mechanics would of thought of me as nothing but another hypocrite that was just playing church.
I hear people talk that way all the time when they see or hear someone that claims to be a Christian and acts like the world.
I don’t know about you but I don’t want to be any ones excuse for not accepting Christ as their Savior.
If you mess up by saying or doing something you know you shouldn’t had said or did. Then you need to apologize to the people that heard you or saw you. Don’t walk around as if you didn’t do anything wrong. You might have asked Jesus to forgive you and He will. But you also need to apologize to the people that were offended by your actions. You might think that they had given you just reasons to act so crazy.
Step down from your pride, and apologize. You will be glad that you did. Jesus way is the best way. *Remember that you are responsible for your own action.