Romans 2:10-11: But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God.
James 2:8-9: If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
Well everyone, I have had yet another revelation. Now, how many of you know that if you have a revelation it isn’t something that just comes and goes? God will remind you of it. He is gentle in His way so, He will mostly just gently nudge you occasionally and then a bit more, and then a bit more until finally you decide you need to do something about it.
So here it is….
Wait I am not ready to tell you yet. Let me tell you some things I have learned through it first. This revelation started me thinking about how as people, ALL people, we decide to like or dislike people with the flip of a switch. Sometimes it isn’t conscious. Sometimes it is conscious. Sometimes it is a facial expression at first impression that you didn’t like. Maybe you think they aren’t good enough OR maybe you think you aren’t good enough. Sometimes it is much, much deeper than those surface areas. Maybe the person did something very personal to you. Maybe the person just wasn’t who you thought they should be. Possibly they hurt you in a way you feel is unforgivable.
This subject could go in so many different directions but I want to keep it simple:
“Respecter of persons”
My story: My Daddy is a person whom I love and respect. I care deeply for him. I heed his wisdom. He raised me unconditionally. I have never questioned my love for him or his love for me. I know without a doubt he would give his life for me. I know that he would do whatever necessary just like probably most daddies would do for their children. I have no question about that. My Daddy does not know the Lord. He claims to be Atheist. Our family is devoted to praying for him. In faith, we claim that he will one day come to know the Lord.
Now there is another man who has been a part of my life. He has hurt me. He has done things and made decisions with my life that no man should make. He is an ex-convict. I will not allow him to have a relationship with my children or myself. This person is my biological father. Years ago I made a decision to “have nothing to do with him”. He is not deserving of having a relationship with me or my family.
BUT…..
Recently this revelation came full force into my mind…no my heart. I have tried to forget about it but to no avail. God keeps reminding me. “I am not respecter of persons”. If God were a respecter of persons an awful lot of us would be in a mess. Not being a respecter of persons means that God loves us NO matter what. He does not look at us and because we have red, blonde, or brown hair, decide not to like us. He created us to love Him. In return, the way we are to love Him is to love ALL others.
So…. Now my revelation….why do I love my Daddy? Why do I claim salvation for him yet not my father? Well I will tell you one is much easier to love than the other. Who am I to be a respecter of persons? Now what I know through the wisdom of The Father is He wants me to pray as equally for my father as I do for my Daddy. He does not want me to be a respecter of persons. He wants me to view all people like He views us: with love, pure unconditional, Kingdom-growing love. He is no respecter of persons.
For God so loved the WORLD that, He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
So I encourage you to join me in this revelation. Pray for me as I pray for you. That none of us would be a “Respecter of persons”. That we would all love one another. While this is an elementary concept, it isn’t very elementary when you think about the ones that are very difficult to love. Sometimes, even frequently, that love needs to be self-sacrificing. Jesus’ sure was. That job He did not take light-hearted. He even struggled with it. His human form struggled (Gethsemane?) God understands the difficulty we face in these trials but they are just that, trials. So are you going to choose to continue to be guilty of this sin? When I stand trial in judgment is God going to say my sin was being a respecter of persons?
In case you are wondering, I haven’t matured enough in this revelation to determine what I should do to move forward. I can accomplish the easy ones by loving others. Not allowing my own first impression thoughts to effect my love for others. As for my father, for now I will lovingly pray for him. Possibly begin a very slow correspondence via email. This will be an extremely difficult step for me and I have yet to determine that I am ready for it. I have forgiven him of his misdeeds and am no longer angry with him. I do struggle with the idea of breaking open that wound again. However, I know with Jesus by my side, all things are possible. And it really isn’t about me. It is about my father and my Father.
Prayer: Lord, I pray that most do not have that person in their lives that is difficult to love but for those who do I pray you will give them the window of opportunity to make amends with that person. I pray for those who believe in You and Your commands, that they would see eternal blessing in honoring You with their obedience. In Jesus’ name, Amen