The sermon last Sunday reminded me of how difficult extreme love can be. It is hard to do what seems to be the opposite of our nature. I noted the importance of politeness and giving people the benefit of the doubt while talking about the intercession of loving others and our testimony of what God has done for us in Christ.
Expressions of God’s love can work in the opposite direction too – silence. Richard Foster says, “the fruit of silence is the freedom to let God be our justifier.” It’s not our job to set people straight. Foster shares an old medieval story to illustrate… a “monk who was being unjustly accused of certain offenses. One day he looked out the window and saw a dog biting and tearing on a rug that had been hung out to dry. As he watched, the Lord spoke to him saying, ‘That is what is happening to your reputation. But if you will trust me, I will care for you-reputation and all.’ Perhaps more than anything else, silence brings us to believe that God can care for us – reputation and all.” (Celebration of Discipline)
If we abide in God, God abides in us. (1 John 4: 15-18)