More like you, Jesus

There are times when I wish that the right thing to do was to treat people just how they’ve treated you. Everyone (or maybe this is just me) has wanted to get revenge on someone or run them through the mud for the time that they hurt you or ran you through the mud. I can even admit that sometimes, I’m struck by how amazing that must feel…even if only for a short while before the conviction were to set in…to know that you took action, that you told them off or got them back, that you said “in your face…your breath stinks and your momma dresses you funny”. And as lame as a comeback that is, it wouldn’t matter…because at least you had a comeback, right?

And then just as quickly as I think of that sweet sweet revenge, my thoughts jump to an image of my perfect savior hanging on a cross. He was crucified for sins that he didn’t even commit and the words out of his mouth were still, “Father, forgive them…”  I’m reminded of how he was beaten and abused, humiliated for all to see to pay the penalty for my sins. I’ve prayed many times for God to make me more like him…in my head, that’s code for “Lord, make me strong and powerful in your name. Help me change my little piece of the world and led many people to you.” and yet, what better example of Christ is there than to be silent when reviled against? How more can I be like my Jesus than when I pray forgiveness and blessings into a person’s life when they’ve spread lies and crucified me to others? And when I’m hanging on the proverbial tree, beaten and abused, humiliated for all to see, with a heart of LOVE for the people that put me there; then I have never been more like Jesus and then I have never been a more powerful witness for Christ.

So, Lord, instead of removing the circumstances and situations that I may find myself in and even put myself in, at times…instead of taking all the hurtful and ugly people out of my life…instead of me seeking revenge on said people on my own terms, help me to love them with a perfect and unfailing love. Let me use these times as ways to become more like you and less like me. When people rise up against me, let the words from my mouth be, “Father, forgive them just like you forgave me”. In Jesus name.