Proverbs 21:21, New Living Translation

“Whoever pursues righteousness and unfailing love will find life, righteousness, and honor.”

When you love much it opens you up to be hurt much. The people you love the most are the ones who hurt you the most. They don’t intentionally seek us out to hurt us, and we don’t intentionally seek others to hurt them. The devil can misconstrue these moments of weakness in our lives. What we must do is balance what we experience and the lies our enemy tells us with truth. “Whoever pursues righteousness and unfailing love will find life, righteousness, and honor.” (Proverbs 21:21, NLT)

Jesus set the example for us in His triumphant entry. He humbly rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. Many cried out, “Hosanna in the highest,” in a show towards Jesus, the Messiah. The same people who welcomed Him with warmth and love are the very same ones who cried out, “Crucify Him!” Can you imagine the hurt Jesus had about being betrayed by those who loved Him? 

Jesus did not let that define His future, our future, or His love, not just for the people of His time, but also for the ones yet to come, you and I. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.

“Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” (Hebrews 12:2, NLT) The Joy set before Him was us. He didn’t just go straight to the throne. Before all of this, He was mocked, spat upon, scourged to the point of almost being unrecognizable, forced to carry His own cross, and then crucified (nailed to the cross) and left to die. After entrusting His spirit to God, His body lay in the grave for three days. And this time Christ took the keys to the kingdom back, and He made a way for us to come boldly before our father, before His throne of grace.

As we were the joy set before Jesus, now Jesus, and our eternal salvation is the joy set before us. Let it be Jesus that we seek and the wisdom and the council of the Holy Spirit that guides us. Our feelings, and the heat of the moment, can lead to irrational thought or behavior. But it is Christ and his word that anchors us. “God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul…” (Hebrews 6:18-19, NLT)

I not only want to encourage us to see Him, but I also want to encourage us to forgive. When Jesus hung on that cross, taking the punishment for our sins, He cried out to God, “…Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34, NLT) And the soldiers gambled for His clothes by throwing dice. In that moment, Christ looked through His greatest pain to His greatest joy and He forgave.

Forgiveness won’t always be easy, but it is in your best interest to forgive. Harboring unforgiveness can cause bitterness, anger, and hate, all of which lead to spiritual death. When you forgive, you have a new life, and you are putting the other person in God’s hands. God isn’t just a loving God; He is also adjusted to God. We all will receive what we deserve.

None of us are perfect, including myself. We are all imperfect people who need a Savior, by recognizing our need for Jesus, we are opening ourselves up for a beautiful transformation of self to take place. Not in and of ourselves, but by complete submission to our Savior, Jesus Christ. “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! “(2 Corinthians 5:17, NLT)

Keep your heart open to Christ. Continue to seek Him, even when it gets hard! If you take a step towards Him, He will take two towards you, meeting you where you are – and giving you what you need in that moment. Because that’s what love does.