Wednesday Reading: Matthew 18:15
Key Verse: Matthew 18:15
15 But if your brother shall trespass against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.
Devotion:
How many times have you been surprised by what people have done to you? I am not talking about the good surprises but those that you would not like, did not like or fear. Every now and again we are caught off-guard by what someone does to us and in those cases we need to think carefully about what has happened. If we were to simply react to the situation we may well end up breaking apart any friendship that we had through something we say and regret afterwards. On the other hand if we let it ride then they may begin to think that we either don’t care or that we are just pretending things are ok.
When things go wrong because of what someone else has done to us then we need to let those people know that they have done something wrong. If they are not told then they may well go on and do that to more people without realising just how much they hurt others. Yet if we are able to stop them before they make a continued fool of themselves then we have made a friend stronger and they will recognise us for that action.
When we do things wrong in front of Christ He continues to try and get our attention so that we will see what we have done wrong. Look back on your life and see how many times He has tried to get your attention through various things in your life. He will not stand idly by and allow us to continue making a fool out of ourselves unless we blatantly reject Him. If we reject a friend then they are not likely to tell us when we have gone wrong; why should we expect anything less from Christ? He does not place a huge banner in front of your house telling you of what you have done wrong but tries to warn you through more subtle means so that you will not be embarrassed in front of all your friends! Christ is compassionate but He is also just. He will not let you get away with things that you know are wrong and those things that you do not yet know are wrong will be brought to your attention... so long as you are willing to listen to Him!
Points to Ponder:
Do you get told off a lot?
How do you take criticism from others?
