Luke 23:34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Several years ago, my department had a bible study. This study was started with three of us and birthed the start of our Miami-Dade FCPO. When the administration changed, one person took it upon themselves to keep officers from attending. Eventually, our bible study was cancelled. As you can imagine, I was at odds with this person for a while.
As time passed, though, we would talk once in a while and I tried my best to show them love. One day, I heard they were retiring. I felt led to give them a gift, a book called Jesus Calling For Law Enforcement. God ordained an extremely unlikely time for our paths to cross before they left, and when we did, I told them I had a gift for them and hoped it would bless them. When they unwrapped the book, they flipped through the pages without saying anything, and I thought, well, they didn’t care for the book. But, as I told them again that I prayed it would bless them, they made a motion towards their eyes. They were full of tears! They were so moved they could not say a word. I gave them a huge hug and told them God loves them. Then they walked away quickly, crying, and it made me wonder if anyone had shown this person unconditional love before.
In our life, we will encounter bitter and angry people. I know it is so hard to do this……., but if we can show them patience and love like Jesus has shown us, you might change the path of their life, to possibly include their eternity. Sometimes loving others means giving of yourself regardless of who the “other” is.
May we have His strength this week to love like Jesus.
Humbled to serve,
Jorge
I am a small piece of a broken mirror reflecting something Great. ~ Jorge Alessandri