|
Jude 20-25 - But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
What happens when we discover that someone we love is in serious trouble with their faith? What do we do when we see them going off a cliff right in front of our eyes, and we don't know how to help?
We cry out to Jesus. We beg Him for help. Who else? Jesus is the One who loves both of us enough to lay down His life for us and rise again. Clearly, He cares for that person a thousand times more than we could ever care. So we pray, trusting that He will hear us and help.
And God cares about us, too, who love them and don't know what to do. Jude gives us several options. He says to show mercy to people in doubt, and no wonder, because doubt is painful. If we can walk with those people in love, instead of running away from their trouble—that demonstrates the love of God, even if the only verbal answers we can give to their questions are "I don't know." Through our acts of kindness, God makes Himself known to them—and sometimes, that can be enough.
What about the ones Jude says to save "by snatching them out of the fire"? Sometimes the only thing you can do is to intervene immediately, separating the person from the danger. My brother-in-law sent us a foster child to live with us, because he was selling drugs for a gang back home. The child's family had to act immediately; and they did. (There was a happy ending too, thanks be to God.)
But then there's the third group, which is the hardest. Jude says, "to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh." These are people involved in some kind of sin that threatens to entangle us, too—and whenever we try to help, we are at risk for falling in the same way. Jude recommends mercy, yes—but he warns us to pay attention to our own danger. We might even be better off asking someone else to deal with the situation, if possible. Just because we love doesn't mean that we are automatically the best person to try and help.
No matter what the trouble is, our eyes and hearts are always on the Lord, who "is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy." He is the One we rely on to save us—and not just us, but the ones we care for. Our hope is in Him.
WE PRAY: Lord, I am worried about [name here:] _____________. Please help him/her. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
1. Have you ever been seriously worried about another Christian?
2. What did you do?
3. How do you find strength and comfort in Jesus when you are struggling with a situation like that?
|
