{"id":419,"date":"2013-09-12T09:20:48","date_gmt":"2013-09-12T14:20:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/?p=419"},"modified":"2013-10-29T15:52:32","modified_gmt":"2013-10-29T20:52:32","slug":"a-pushover-for-christ","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/?p=419","title":{"rendered":"A Pushover for Christ"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thursday of the 23rd<\/sup> Week in Ordinary Time<\/h2>\n

Col 3: 12-17; Luke 6: 27-38<\/h2>\n

Dc. Larry Brockman<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

So, are we all to become pushovers?\u00a0 Is that what Jesus is asking us to be?\u00a0 Because it would seem that there are plenty of folks in this world who are poised to just take and take and take from us until we are left with nothing at all ourselves.\u00a0 Just what is it that Jesus is asking of us?<\/p>\n

First, let us recognize that Jesus spoke many times in hyperbole, meaning, in an exaggerated way.\u00a0 He did that to make a point.\u00a0 And Jesus point this morning resonates well with Paul\u2019s message.\u00a0 They are both making the same point, that \u201cas the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do\u201d.<\/p>\n

You see, we all hope to be forgiven by God of whatever sins we have committed.\u00a0 And we all hope to be treated by God with love and generosity so that we may be happy forever with Him in the next life.\u00a0 Our trials in life are there so that we can learn to be like God in whose image and likeness we were created.\u00a0 If everything went perfectly in this life- no trials, no suffering, no challenge, what kind of fortitude and strength would that develop in us?\u00a0 Not much.<\/p>\n

But as it is, because sin entered the world, each of us is subjected to trials and tests; and suffering and temptations.\u00a0 God sent His only son Jesus to live and dwell among us to show us the way, so that we can emulate the master, the Lord Jesus Christ.\u00a0 And what did he do?\u00a0 He sought out God\u2019s will for him and trusted in it by being obedient.\u00a0 It meant he didn\u2019t have much by the world\u2019s standards.\u00a0 Ultimately, he endured persecution, suffering, and death.\u00a0 But he exhibited a loving and forgiving attitude the whole time, accepting His cross with dignity and resolve.<\/p>\n

We need to treat others the same way Jesus treated them.\u00a0 That means we need to treat others the way we would like to be treated. \u00a0That doesn\u2019t mean we have to roll over and be pushovers.\u00a0 But it does mean we have to prioritize things in our lives like Jesus did.\u00a0 We have to stand up for what is right, uncompromisingly.\u00a0 That\u2019s not being a pushover.\u00a0 We need to be generous and sharing of what we have.\u00a0 But it is not always money and goods- it can include time, affection, attention, knowledge, and our talents.\u00a0 And we have to be willing to suffer with dignity when it is the will of God- in sickness or physical disability, or mental trials, or whatever the clocks of time dictate.\u00a0 And finally, we need to be patient and enduring when others push us- like people cutting in on us in traffic, or nagging and persistent contacts we have with people.\u00a0 It\u2019s all part of being human and learning what it means to be made in the image and likeness of God.<\/p>\n

Think about the way you hope to be treated by God.\u00a0 Well, that\u2019s the way we need to treat others because \u201cIf we love one another, then God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us\u201d.\u00a0 And that is where we should all be trying to get in this world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thursday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time Col 3: 12-17; Luke 6: 27-38 Dc. Larry Brockman   So, are we all to become pushovers?\u00a0 Is that what Jesus is asking us to be?\u00a0 Because it would seem that there are plenty of folks in this world who are poised to just take and take […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[251],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=419"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":421,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419\/revisions\/421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}