Beware you Choleric !!

Key Verse:
However, because of this I was shown mercy, so that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering, as a pattern for those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.
(1 Timothy 1:16 EMTV)

Intro
The first of the character traits of a person's love for his neighbor is his patience. Since we live in a community, it is but obvious that we will brush into each other, hurting or offending each other. There is no way you can live in a community yet not offend anyone in you entire life. It is because the fall not only destroyed Adam's relationship with God but also his relationship with Eve. Patience is not showed in action but in your reaction. It deals with how you react when someone crosses your line. If the person is an extrovert he might just blow off his head on that person while an introvert will get carry the hurt in his heart. Both of which is unhealthy.  But the fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience… true patience or longsuffering is a result of genuine and selfless love for people around us.


WDJS
What did Jesus Say about patience? Jesus said in Luke 17:4, if your brother sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' you must forgive him. The standard for patience that Jesus taught, at times seems unattainable to me. How can I simply let go off someone who offends me 7 times in the same day? I can imagine why the disciples replied to him saying "Increase our faith". They obviously didn’t think they could ever do that. However all of Jesus' teaching in the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5-7 seem to emphasize and reemphasize the same over and over again. The KJV bible translates patience as Long-suffering in most places. It brings out the meaning of what Jesus intended it to be. It is not just suffering. It is suffering long. Jesus said Do not resist the one who is evil (Matt 5:39), if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. I have heard people (including me) say, I will not allow anyone to take advantage over me or try to control me. But that's exactly what Jesus taught and practiced for us to follow.

Paul says, I was shown mercy, so that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering, as a pattern for those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. In simple words, Paul says its not my duty to be patient or longsuffering. The Christ who dwells in me will show forth his longsuffering through me. In other words, I am just a branch, he is the vine. It is his duty to bear the fruit. My duty is to just remain attached to the vine.


Practical Implications
Strength is born in the deep silence of long-suffering hearts; not amid joy, said Sir Arthur Helps. Patience is one such virtue that cannot be cultivated in our lives without people or situations rising up against us. Just like muscles cannot be developed without pressure and weight applied against your body, a person who wants to be patient should be always willing to face opposition and try to use every opportunity that comes his way to develop patience, instead of blowing off one's head or getting discouraged.

The bible says, be angry and do not sin. Anger is a natural emotion. At times inherited genetically. Patience keeps you from sinning. Patience does not mean you will not have the natural tendency of getting angry. It means, that you will control yourself even though you are angry. It means, you will forgive even though you are deeply hurt. Forgiving someone who has wronged you is a very essential thing in the new testament church. Jesus said, you should not even pray or worship or give if you haven't forgiven someone you ought to have. (Matt 5:23-24). If you wont forgive your brother, your Father in heaven wont forgive you either. Forgiveness is appropriated only when it is from the heart.


In Conclusion
We have a natural tendency to excuse ourselves saying, we are short tempered in nature or cant bear injustice and all that crap. However, Jesus never made a special provision in his teachings for short tempered people. As disciples of Jesus we are expected to reflect his image in our lives. He suffered till the point of death, without opening his mouth for anything other than to forgive and to bless them that persecuted him. Let us look onto Jesus, the perfect one, who's the author and finisher of our faith life. If he could do it, you and I can also achieve it through the sin-conquering power of the Holy Spirit.

Who’s my neighbor?

Key Verse:

Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.  (1 Corinthians 10:24 ESV)

Intro

The cross of Jesus Christ had two wooden planks, a vertical one and a horizontal one. The death of Jesus Christ brings reconciliation not only in our relationship with God but also in our relationship with our fellow human beings. It is not possible that one can truly love God and ignore the people around him. That's why Jesus said the second is equally important, "Love your neighbor as yourself." We are living in a day and age when helping someone is looked upon with suspicion even by the person being helped. No one cares about the other. As a matter of fact, sometimes even if we care, we don’t have the time to show that we care!

Biblical Understanding/WDJS:

The people around us can be divided into our immediate friends and family, our church, our non-believer friends and then the people we are not related to in any way. The bible talks about how godly and respectable our relationship with each of this group should be.

The first category is the Friends and Family. The Lord Jesus was once told that his mother and sisters are waiting outside the room to meet him. Jesus replied saying the ones who are inside the room and listening to him speak, are his family. In other words Jesus meant that the church where you fellowship is your real family. They are also your immediate parents, brothers, and sisters. The bible is very clear about our responsibility towards our family. As a child, to obey. As a husband to love, as a wife to submit. And as brothers and sister to live in harmony. This applies not only to our biological family, but also to our spiritual family, i.e. the church!

The second category is our friends who are not believers. As true friends, we have a great responsibility to shine the light of God into their lives. Jesus said "Let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." It is God who has placed you in that particular friendship, or relationship with a specific purpose of shining his light in their lives. Friendship is not just about hanging out together, having fun, going for games together and doing stuff together. It's more about keeping your life as an open book before the other person that the light of God might shine through you. Jesus made a friend in that thief even when he was hanging on the cross.

The third category is the people we don’t know or not related at all. We are all aware of the story of the good Samaritan. The Samaritan man was probably seeing the hurting traveler for the first time in his life. Still he chose to wait and help. Taking upon himself the risk of being attacked by similar robbers and also missing his important appointments for the day (things we consider so important). I can imagine someone doing that for a friend or a family member, but helping a total stranger is something unheard of. This story was in reply to a question asked to Jesus, Who's my neighbor?

An Example:

The life and ministry of Heidi Baker is one living example of obeying the command of Jesus "Love thy neighbor as yourself" God has used her apostolically to change the course of an entire nation of Mozambique, and reach out to 25 other nations just on the simple principle of preaching and practicing divine love. What identifies her with Jesus is not the numerous number of signs and wonders in her ministry but the expression of self sacrificing love. Its said that even the street children has access to the very same clothes her children wears! Her sermons are an expression of her worship and love for God. Oh how we need more people with self sacrificial love like Heidi Baker. Recommended read; 'Compelled By Love' by  Heidi Baker and Shara Pradhan

Practical implications:

Some people have a completely wrong understanding of the whole topic. They just go out on a charity spree! Nothing wrong in doing that, though! If you have the money please go ahead and do that. The point I want to make is that you need not have love or compassion to do a lot of charity. Anyone with a lot of money can do it and those who don’t can excuse themselves by saying 'I am not capable of doing that!' Please understand that God doesn’t judge you by your actions but by your motives. If the motives are right even a glass of plain water given to someone is a great feat. Two principles behind being a good neighbor is being Selfless and beingSensitive. The root cause of all sins is selfishness. The day your self and your selfish ambitions die you will start to become sensitive to other people's needs and helplessness. It says Jesus was moved with compassion every time he saw a suffering person. If we are just sensitive to the people around us, we would know of numerous number of things we could say and do that would make us a loving neighbor to many in this hurting world.

Conclusion:

Did you know that being insensitive to the people around you can land you up in hell? Please read Matthew 25:31-46 to understand that. Whatever category of people you are dealing with, its very important to be selfless and to be sensitive! Why don’t you ask God to make your heart and mind more sensitive to people around you and their real needs. Even when Jesus was on the cross he was sensitive to the needs to his family, the unbelieving friends and even the people who were mocking at him. As a result Mary got a new son in John, the thief on the cross entered the paradise and a roman centurion got saved!! I pray that the life and character of our Lord Jesus Christ may shine through your life for many around you to see and believe in HIM!