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Inspirational Article
From
Joanne Lowe
Index of Writings by Joanne Lowe on Gospel Web
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Inspirational Article
From
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Last night I watched as a very dear friend of mine that I have known for fifteen years broke down and cried. He said to his family “I didn’t mean no harm”. This man is a loving and kind man. He is a good husband, a good dad and a good provider for his family. However, he had invested in a business and it went bankrupt. He was heartbroken because he had taken all of the money that he and his wife had saved over the years and put it into the business. He was discouraged and depressed and he thought that his family would be angry with him and never forgive him.
In one of the most touching scenes I have ever been privileged to witness, his wife and children put their arms around him and said “It’s okay”. Just two words and yet those two words gave him hope that he was not a failure as a husband, a dad, and as a good provider for his family. His family gave him unconditional love just as Jesus gives to us. They didn’t criticize him or accuse him; they simply loved him.
I think as Jesus was being tortured, abused, spat upon, cursed, mocked, ridiculed, criticized and crucified that He thought “I didn’t mean no harm”. All Jesus had ever done was to give His love to people and He was treated worse than any person has ever been or ever will be treated. He endured all of the shame, horror and heartache of the cross out of His heart of unconditional love for us.
We have a loving and compassionate Saviour. He understands how we feel when somebody says unkind things to us or does something to hurt us because He has walked in our shoes and has experienced first hand the heartache of loneliness, criticism and ridicule. He longs to comfort and encourage us but we have to go to Him and allow Him to hold us close to His loving heart of compassion. There is no one who loves us like Jesus loves us. There is nobody else who can see into the depths of our hearts and know how much we hurt and how desperately we need somebody to care about us and love us. There is no greater friend than Jesus.
O that we would be like Jesus and give unconditional love to our families, our loved ones and to a world that is hurting, lonely, discouraged and depressed. When our families make unwise decisions, do we criticize them and hold it against them or do we say “It’s okay”? May we always pattern our lives and our hearts after the life and heart of Jesus. The next time someone hurts us and comes to us and asks us to forgive him or her, let’s open our hearts to them and say “It’s okay”.