Fasting Devotional Day Nineteen: Thursday, January 20, 2022 Text: Matthew 7:12
By LeChelle Smith
Thoughts:
I do not believe there is one person who has not grown-up hearing, “Treat others as you would like to be treated.” In my case it was my parent’s attempt to rid me of wanting to seek revenge on someone who I felt treated me wrongly. However, the saying goes much deeper than what we see on the surface if we look into the scripture. Matthew 7:12 states “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (NIV). The scripture gives us insight on how we should interact with one another. When I read the scripture, I get an image from Christ’s perspective. There are countless times when He models how we should act. By His modeling He treats us with grace and mercy. I feel that by learning to love Christ as He loves us and showing that to others is our purpose. By doing so we are able to reflect Christ in all areas of our life. Our attempts to treat others as Christ treats us with love, compassion, forgiveness among others allows us to display our true faith and bring glory to Him.
For me, when I feel hurt, it is hard for me to think Christ-like thoughts. No matter how hard I try at times I do not want to treat others the way I would like them to treat me. I want to treat them as I feel they deserve.
I thank the Holy Spirit during these times who reminds me that it is not for me to judge or obtain justice, but simply to hold onto my faith and love people as Christ has taught me. I struggle mostly with this while parenting. There are times when I want to scream or yell at my children but remind myself that I am to be a model. Do I appreciate them screaming or yelling at me? Certainly not, therefore, I must model how Christ would react. It is not easy, but with Christ by my side I can turn to him for wisdom and guidance. So, I say to you, be intentional to model what you would like to see from your brothers and sisters in Christ. We cannot do good works with unclean hearts. We are called to bring glory not to ourselves but to Christ.
Challenge:
I challenge you to do your own heart check. Are you purposely living your life as a model for others and with pure focus or are you displaying what you want others to see?