Devotions

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.”
Matthew 5:11 NIV

The man was spitting on me.  I stepped back, he stepped forward. I wiped my decorated cheek, he leaned closer. I moved to the side, he followed me.

Sadness overcame me as I watched a red flush race from his shirt collar, to his neck, to his cheeks, to his hairline. Perhaps he was spitting on me, not because he meant to, but because he was so mad.

Earlier, I had made my way through a group of protestors at a political rally. As I returned to my parked car, two men remained on a street corner with their signs. Approaching the duo, I gently asked them to tell me about their signs. Protestor #1 immediately launched into a tirade of injustices, citing intellectual reasons to validate his premise.

Protestor #2 stated how he had been wronged and sited various sources to substantiate his position. It was at that point that I fell under the barrage of saliva. As I wiped my face, he wiped his mouth.

Protestor #1 followed up with a foul statement. Taking off my sunglasses, I silently made the move of the basketball referee doing a time-out signal. I looked straight into my reflection in the mans’ sunglasses. “Could I have equal time to respond to you?” With a sharp jerk of his head, he sputtered, “I’ll think about it.”

I spoke from my heart. “Would you consider reading some information about someone who cares so much, that He died for you?” When they gave a brief nod, I handed each of the men a small pamphlet that spoke to peace and hope in God. I continued, “if after reading it, you have any questions, please call me, I had included my name and phone number.” They flipped through the few pages, commenting that they could read the short booklet. We headed our separate ways.

In the Beatitudes, the Lord makes it clear that there are many human conditions. Decide today, to look at each encounter you face, as a mission field for the cause of Christ. Don’t turn aside from the opportunity that is in front of you. God will always provide the resources.