I was offended

I am thankful for Jodi Hendricks. I have gotten to know her from her stance of what is Biblically right. Jodi’s work at New Mexico Family Action Movement is invaluable!

I was offended.

I read the words in the scathing email and experienced a mixture of emotions. From righteous indignation, to fear that the words were true, I found myself torn down and dejected. I’ll spare you the details; I’m sure you’ve experienced something similar. That moment when the flesh wants to respond in-kind with words that will leave the offender feeling just as bad as they’ve made you feel.

But I had a choice.

I couldn’t let it steal my joy, because my joy comes from something much deeper than the opinions of others.

I couldn’t let it affect my love for others, because my love for others is not determined by their words, it comes from the Spirit within me.

I couldn’t let it rob me of peace, because my peace flows from my connection to the Father, not man.

I couldn’t let it tear down my patience, kindness, or goodness because none of these rely on people playing nice.

And most importantly, I couldn’t let it take my self-control and spew unkind words back in their direction because other peoples lack of self-control is never an excuse to lose my own.

The beauty of the fruit of the spirit is that it is drawn from a well deep within us that is continually filled by the Holy Spirit himself. These fruits are not things that we produce ourselves, it is not a well that we can fill on our own. But in His precious goodness, God grants us the Holy Spirit as a flowing source of all that the Father longs to see flowing from us. Our responsibility is to tap into. We tap into it by knowing Gods word and hiding it in our hearts. We tap into it by saying no to our sinful human responses and choosing to respond in a manner that will honor our Father in heaven.

We are still human and will always fight the desire of the flesh. Sometimes it’s not easy to maintain self-control. Sometimes goodness and patience are the furthest thing from our minds when we’ve been offended or torn down. Sometimes our joy and our peace feel paper thin as we grasp at them like straws blown about in the wind.

But it’s still a choice.

The fruits of the spirit are a choice. I can choose to give in to a fleshly response, or I can choose to remember that I belong to Christ Jesus and have therefore nailed the passions and desires of my sinful nature to his cross.

I don’t want them back.

Therefore, I will draw from the well that the Holy Spirit supplies and produces within me and allow to flow from it: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

May our responses to the sin in this world truly show the Almighty’s defeat of it. May we honor him and reveal his heart to those who offend us.