John 7:11-13
New International Version (NIV)
11 Now at the festival the Jewish leaders were watching for Jesus and asking, “Where is he?”
12 Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.”
Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.” 13 But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders.
Doesn't this sound just like... us? Some things never do change. When anything - good or bad - happens to you, there's bound to be a lot of chatter. Some people are going to think the best of you. They're going to assume that you had the best of motives and that, even if you failed, your heart was in the right place.
On the other hand, some people are going to think poorly of you. No matter what you do and no matter what your attitude is like. They're going to assume the worst, that you woke up this morning looking for something terrible to do and someone to hurt. But hey... the lesson here is: They did the same thing to Jesus, and He was perfect. Do we really expect more, when we're not?
This is actually a really encouraging passage for me. A couple of years back, I had some people say some things to me that cut me to the quick. It hurt me enough that they questioned my actions, but what brought me to my knees was the accusation that I did things out of bad motives. I didn't sleep for days, and I replayed that conversation over and over and over in my head. Even now, I catch myself putting it on repeat and beating myself up about it all over again. What did I do to make them think such horrible things about me? If they could think those things, did other people think them too? What could I have done to change their minds?
The truth is this: I'm not perfect. Like so many others I know, I'm just doing the best that I can, and often I fail. But when someone attributed bad motives to me and accused me of doing things that I know I did not even think of, much less do, then the one thing I did wrong was to let that shadow follow me around for so long. Jesus shook those comments off and moved on. He didn't let them incapacitate him, because he knew his own heart. That is a lesson in itself, and a lesson I would do well to learn.
The Lord is so wise. And in His way of doing things, there is peace. I'm glad to finally be learning that.
12 Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.”
Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.” 13 But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders.
Doesn't this sound just like... us? Some things never do change. When anything - good or bad - happens to you, there's bound to be a lot of chatter. Some people are going to think the best of you. They're going to assume that you had the best of motives and that, even if you failed, your heart was in the right place.
On the other hand, some people are going to think poorly of you. No matter what you do and no matter what your attitude is like. They're going to assume the worst, that you woke up this morning looking for something terrible to do and someone to hurt. But hey... the lesson here is: They did the same thing to Jesus, and He was perfect. Do we really expect more, when we're not?
This is actually a really encouraging passage for me. A couple of years back, I had some people say some things to me that cut me to the quick. It hurt me enough that they questioned my actions, but what brought me to my knees was the accusation that I did things out of bad motives. I didn't sleep for days, and I replayed that conversation over and over and over in my head. Even now, I catch myself putting it on repeat and beating myself up about it all over again. What did I do to make them think such horrible things about me? If they could think those things, did other people think them too? What could I have done to change their minds?
The truth is this: I'm not perfect. Like so many others I know, I'm just doing the best that I can, and often I fail. But when someone attributed bad motives to me and accused me of doing things that I know I did not even think of, much less do, then the one thing I did wrong was to let that shadow follow me around for so long. Jesus shook those comments off and moved on. He didn't let them incapacitate him, because he knew his own heart. That is a lesson in itself, and a lesson I would do well to learn.
The Lord is so wise. And in His way of doing things, there is peace. I'm glad to finally be learning that.
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