jude 1.22 in the niv says, be merciful to those who doubt and the message says, go easy on those who hesitate in the faith.
the most likely time you're going to doubt or hesitate in your faith is when you are hurting, when you are in pain. when you're really hurting, you say, "where is GOD? HE's not hearing my prayer. maybe HE doesn't care. maybe HE doesn't even exist!"
now if you have never had those doubts, then you've never been in very much pain. but if you've been in pain you know exactly what i'm talking about. doubts come in.
so what is the CHRIST like response to people who doubt? well, you don't debate them: "i'm going to prove to you that GOD exists!" that for sure is not the time to do that. you don't demean them, put them down, disown them – "you're not a CHRISTian if you're having doubts!" and you don't desert them.
what do you do? you show mercy or you go easy on them. you be understanding to them and you support them. show mercy to those who doubt when they're in pain.
just a thought from the front porch…
No comments:
Post a Comment