Friday Morning Special 03/14/2014
Bless those who curse you, pray for those who ill-treat you. (Luke 6:28)
By, Irina Ratushinskaya
Almost every demand from Christ seems impracticable. If we, however, want to follow the Lord, then there is no other way. More than once I experienced this from the KGB prisons.
The response of the world to the tormentors of the KGB is hatred, and every hour, the KGB gives more reasons to hate them. But I soon noticed that if I hated them as well, I would be eaten up from within. I have seen fellow prisoners so filled with hatred that they lost their mind and so destroyed their personality. And that’s exactly what the KGB wants.
How should we as Christians control these feelings? Christ commanded us to cast out hatred by love. That is not easy. This demand by Christ seems impracticable. But there is no other way.
“Pray for those who mistreat you.” Such a prayer may save them, but in any case it will save us.
Irina Ratushinskaya from Russia was imprisoned for seven years in a labor camp. She has written about her experiences in a moving book entitled Grey is the Colour of Hope published by Sceptre Books, 1989.
From- Day by Day with the Persecuted Church
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We all need to love more and forgive those who do us wrong.
Mike Jr.
I’m going to print this out and hang it somewhere that I’ll see it often. Thank you for another great message. I’d like to mention another book that I read a couple of years ago, that tells of one of the most amazing acts of forgiveness I’ve ever heard about. It’s called Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. It’s an incredible story, I would love to be as forgiving as Louis Zamperini is. Thank you Mike! xoxo