“We can’t really tell how crooked our thinking is until we line it up with the straight edge of Scripture.” Elisabeth Elliot
Take up your cross. Love those who are hard to love anyways. Forgive others or your Father won’t forgive you. Be okay when people insult you. Do it right…every time. If you want to be perfect, sell everything and give it away.
Jesus said those words, not me. Pretty tough stuff, right? Yet, the reality is that Jesus knew who He was talking to in each case; and, it was exactly what they needed to hear if they wanted to find life today, tomorrow and on into eternity.
Jesus tells it to us straight, out of love. It is the only way to set us free from what hinders us from becoming more like Him.
I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced this, but there have been times when I’ve shut my Bible or didn’t even open it because I didn’t want to hear what I knew I was about to read.
Yet, to grow closer to Jesus, I needed those tough words spoken to me so He could expose what was in the way of my loving Him.
Jesus says what needs to be said in a loving and appropriate manner, even when the words are tough. It’s the only way to live in freedom. If you are not hearing those types of words from time to time, you’re probably listening to the wrong god.