The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 179


The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 179

Luke 17:1-3 – Then said he unto the disciples. It is impossible but that offences will come but woe unto him, through whom they come! It would be better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.

Jesus, the Christ of God/Messiah
An offense is hard to overcome, it could be the very thing that hinders our relationships with others. The truth, at least from my personal experience is that offenses from me, or from others toward me, is the stumbling block I face on any encounter with other people daily. There are many types of offense, but I wish only to look at one this morning. That being; the offense caused by a critical human spirit who cannot forgive and the effect that it has on the people within their realm of influence. I believe this is what the LORD is discussing with His disciples as well.

If someone has a critical human spirit, they will look at everyone and every event as a stumbling block to be offended. A person such as this carries a countenance (a frown or disposition) of cold unfriendliness. Others see this and without a word, they will seek to avoid any personal contact and will purposely stay away, this too is offensive to the one with a critical human spirit. Immediately on contact, friction develops, and both parties fail to find the peace of bonding in the love of God through Christ. 

We could say and often do; “I do not need to be friends or friendly with people of this sort” this does not remove the hurt or longing in our heart for a good friendship with others and a closer personal relationship with the few who seek this with us. Only the very mature person in Christ can forgive, and forgive again, and forgive again; even a cold unfriendly person seeks to be friendly, but the connection is full of fault and usually fails. In Proverbs 18:24 we read – A man (or woman) who has friends, MUST, himself (or herself) be FRIENDLY, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

And what about this friend who sticks closer than a brother, maybe the husband or wife of one who has a critical human spirit, is that friend. Or maybe they are the ones in the shadows who are there when others are not. The one who has the critical human spirit knows them, they are always there and never fail to offer comfort, even when all that the one with the critical spirit does is complain. Forgiveness first must come from our self to our self, then and only then can friendship be offered to another. In other words, forgiveness is a two-way street, we are an offense to others when we fail to forgive our self of the same fault we see in others. Judge not and you will not be judged.

The babe in Christ (the little ones), it could be the very thing that turns them away from the LORD, we must be careful as forgiveness toward others is a major issue in relationships and in church fellowships these days.

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