“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord,
when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to
drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing
clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you,
whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine,
you did for me.’
“Then he will say to those on his left,
‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the
devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty
and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes
and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after
me.’
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we
see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in
prison, and did not help you?’
“He will
reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of
these, you did not do for me.’"
Matthew 25:37-46 NIV
I have had a lot to think about over night. I spent yesterday at the Sheriff's Department in Domestic Violence Training for clergy. I've been around for awhile so I'm pretty well aware of all of the symptoms and signs of abuse as I have witnessed a lot of it. But, I needed some help in what I, as a pastor, could possible do about it. How do I confront it in a way that is helpful to the survivor (and prayerfully there is a survivor)?
Often Christian survivors of abuse will make excuses; justify the abuser's actions, by using misperceived notions about what God demands of them in a relationship. They actually use scripture to justify the abuser's actions. They assume that God would want them to keep the vows that they made to obey the other without considering that Jesus has commanded us to love one another. Abuse is not love. We are to love one another even as Jesus loves us. Jesus does not and has not ever abused us. He has only loved us so unconditionally that he was willing to be abused for us! When someone abuses the person they have promised to love for the rest of their lives they have already broken the covenant that's been made between the two of them. The survivor should not feel as though they bear the burden of guilt for the broken covenant. (Psalms 55:20-21)
Jesus told the disciples and he tells us that what we do to others, and that includes our spouses, we do to Jesus. Would you really assault Jesus? Would you make excuses for anyone abusing Jesus?
What we do to others we do to Jesus!
May God teach us to love Him and others even as He loves us all.
God's Peace - Pr. J
Often Christian survivors of abuse will make excuses; justify the abuser's actions, by using misperceived notions about what God demands of them in a relationship. They actually use scripture to justify the abuser's actions. They assume that God would want them to keep the vows that they made to obey the other without considering that Jesus has commanded us to love one another. Abuse is not love. We are to love one another even as Jesus loves us. Jesus does not and has not ever abused us. He has only loved us so unconditionally that he was willing to be abused for us! When someone abuses the person they have promised to love for the rest of their lives they have already broken the covenant that's been made between the two of them. The survivor should not feel as though they bear the burden of guilt for the broken covenant. (Psalms 55:20-21)
Jesus told the disciples and he tells us that what we do to others, and that includes our spouses, we do to Jesus. Would you really assault Jesus? Would you make excuses for anyone abusing Jesus?
What we do to others we do to Jesus!
May God teach us to love Him and others even as He loves us all.
God's Peace - Pr. J
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