BBD 08.04.14 The Survivor (New)
Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>
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The Burning
Bush Devotional
08.04.14
The
Survivor
And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another,
even as God in Christ forgave you. - Ephesians 4:31 NKJV.
Soon
after the Survivor was born he was relocated to a new land along with his
mother, two brothers and a sister. Not long after their move the mother died from
a heart condition. While the Survivor was growing up his sister disappeared and
was never seen again. The Survivor suffered a life threatening accident and
both of his brothers also died, but the Survivor lives on. Who or what is the
Survivor? The Survivor is a cat and his name is Batman. Batman is a large long
haired mostly black cat with some white around his face and belly. This cat is
a survivor having lived outside in a dangerous environment for four and a half
years. He has survived having a broken leg. He has survived threats from owls,
hawks, coyotes, bobcats, and dogs along with attacks from other male cats.
Batman
has a strategy for surviving in his relationships with other cats that has been
effective. It is a somewhat strange strategy. Batman survives in his
relationships through extending forgiveness and demonstrating kindness. A large
male cat outside has at times viciously attacked Batman, but yesterday I saw
him go up to this cat and rub on him and begin to give him a bath. Batman now comes
inside on our patio at night where it is safer. However, we have an inside cat,
George, who is a bully. Also, yesterday I saw George jump on Batman, who at
first hissed in response, but then went over and began to rub on George and
purred. Now Batman is a large male cat who is all muscled up from his years
outside and he could make short work of either of those other cats, instead he
chooses to forgive and act kindly toward them.
Jesus
gives us a strategy for surviving in our relationships with other people. What
is that strategy? Forgiveness and kindness. In Matthew
18:21-22 Peter asks Jesus a question about forgiveness: “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I
forgive him? Up to seven times?” This is the answer Jesus gives to
Peter: “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up
to seventy times seven.” The point is not to forgive 490 times. The
point Jesus is making is that the extending of forgiveness toward others should
be never ending. If you have ever been on the receiving end of receiving
forgiveness from another person you know that this is something that is not
soon forgotten. Forgiveness goes far beyond words extending deep into our
hearts.
What
does Jesus have to say about being kind: “But love your
enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will
be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the
unthankful and evil (Luke 6:35).” Extending unexpected kindness is
always fun, because you can see the surprise and joy etched on the faces of the
recipients. Just like it is etched on our own faces when we are the recipients
of unexpected kindness.
The
Jesus strategy for winning friends and influencing people begins and ends with
extending forgiveness and extending kindness even toward your enemies (Matthew 18:21-22; Luke 6:35). If you haven’t tried
the Jesus strategy for relational survival lately, try it. Living as a
forgiving and kind person will not only extend your life, it will make your journey
through this world a far more pleasant one.
Copyright © 2014. Ed Wrather. The
Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998
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