Luke 23:34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”...
Both ignorance and arrogance is NOT bliss. When we read through the scriptures and of the days recorded when Jesus walked the earth individually, before doing so corporately (through His Church, that is the Redeemed people of the Lord), Jesus dealt with plenty of arrogant people, as He still does today.
However while on the cross, bleeding profusely to a somewhat slow and agonizing death, a death not forced upon Jesus, without Him first willingly consenting to the hour and yielded Himself towards the cross, Jesus asks the Father to forgive those that put Him there.
The seemingly unfair reason?
Because MERCY looks upon ARROGANCE with KINDNESS!
I among many other radical Christians, deal with our fair share of those who, like we all once were, are arrogant to the knowledge of Christ. It is easy to get upset, easy to tap into the carnal nature and wish ill upon them. But that's not what MERCY does!
You can crucify MERCY and HE will always look upon you with Kindness and love. You can comment on a Christian's posts and crucify them with your comments, but MERCY speaks TRUTH back with KINDNESS!
Does MERCY tolerate arrogance? No! Does MERCY only seeking "loving" words? Only if they are words that align with TRUTH! However the SPIRIT of mercy and the DISPOSITION of mercy is that of a loving spirit and a kind outlook!
Kindness is not a disposal of TRUTH, but the silver platter in which TRUTH is delivered upon!
Jesus never refrained from saying that those who beat Him and bruised His body were "RIGHT in so doing"! No, but He said "THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING" and right in front of them too! He spoke the truth, but within His truthful statement, KINDNESS spoke about forgiveness, because of the truth concerning those people!
Anytime you find yourself dealing with someone irate over your posts or your comments face to face concerning Jesus that are true to His Word, speak the truth; but be sure MERCY looks upon them with KINDNESS, and pray for them as MERCY would pray.
Our battles are not with flesh and blood as Paul stated, but against principalities and powers...demonic and dark/ pure evil spirits. Such is not seen my the naked eye, but manifested within the lost and arrogant soul. (Ephesians 6:12) When we war against principalities in prayer, don't put a person's name or face to it to identify that spirit, but rather called that spirit out for what it is!
Psalm 85:10-13 Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven. Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase. Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.
So today let MERCY do the looking through you so that ARROGANCE can be addressed with KINDNESS and pray for them as people also prayed for you, that you might come into the saving grace and knowledge of The Lord Jesus Christ.
WHAT ABOUT HOW WE VIEW OURSELVES?
To many times when we know we have sinned and are not living right before God, we can easily feel as if God wants nothing to do with us. We begin to assume that His view of us is the same as what we think and how we view ourselves. However the opposite can be true is we are full of pride.
The fact is that only Christ can see the heart for how it is and we must surrendered it to Him. His Word (The Bible) will always reveal to us the WAY in which our heart, not just our behavior alone, but also the heart must be fashioned. This comes not but "positive thinking or being", but by the renewal and COMPLETE transformation of our lives!
Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren,BY THE MERCIES of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
MERCY gives suggestions as to how you ought to see, as well as be, as God ordains it. Before Paul states how the life of a Disciples of Christ ought to live, Paul makes sure to let us know (as he was talking to the church in Rome) that what direction he was going to give, he gives it in the NAME of MERCIES! In other words, Paul here introduces and makes known to us that he is speaking through the divine lens of God's perspective!
In away we were these spiritual bifocals that cause us see all dark and self worth when we look, but God doesn't want us to look through them, nor any other "spiritual bifocals", but rather He wants to TOUCH our very eyes and cause us to see as only He sees, which will lend us to speak in only how He would speak!
John 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
Therefore when it comes to how we view the world and even ourselves God wants to give us a divine perspective! He wants us to have 20/20 vision by the spirit! In other words He wants us to be able to see what is ahead of our life and where He is directing, as well as what season we are now in.
Any other sort of sight that is not 20/20, where we can see far but not near or near but not far is a sight that is HALF BLIND! To not be able to see both near or far is BLINDNESS all together!
But thanks be to God, Jesus came also as a healer to the blind! I believe before are quick to rejoice of natural restoration of sight, we need to rejoice more over spiritual eyesight healed and intact! Jesus dies both, because He wants us to see Him!
The Mercy we extend unto others, and as Jesus prayed for forgiveness toward those arrogant to see the light of the world (John 1) while on the cross, is the very gift that not only dismisses people's ignorance to the truth, but it sets the platform for restored sight to come to them!
Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised...