Sorry it has taken me so long to get #2 out there. Part of the reason is that this has yet to become a habit. I so appreciated the many comments from #1, but because this is an all new tool to me, I also still have to figure out how to use it.

So my second post is more of a sharing than it is a newsletter. Still, hope you enjoy it : )

Take it or Leave it

“Blessed is he who is not offended because of me…” MT 11:6

Jesus told us unequivocally that offenses would come (MT 18:7). Experience tells us the same. Unless you are a monk who lives in a cave completely separated from people, you are going to have plenty of opportunities to be offended.

So the question then becomes not whether we will encounter offense, but when. So it is best be ready. Since it has been marvelously stated that the quality of one’s life is a result of the choices one makes, let me suggest a couple with regards to offense.

First, just because an offense is given, it does not mean that it has to be received. The Greek word for offense comes from the word meaning to bait a trap. So, simply put, if we take the bait offered to us by an offense, we better watch out cause our leg is going to suddenly be locked in irons and we are not going anywhere. So, friends, do not take the bait. Leave it. Don’t touch it or even stare at it in wonder. There is grace, so just walk.

OK, although this is a clear choice, it is still not easy; and usually such traps catch us unawares. Although the choice to drop the issue opens the trap and let’s us go free, it’s still not easy, and it stings. And sometimes traps leave scars.

In answer to this, Jesus teaches us a principle about offense in these words he spoke to John the Baptist while he was in prison. You see, in answer to John’s question about whether or not Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus assured him of the facts, that He performed all the works that could only be done by the Son of God. But he didn’t stop there. Jesus did not want John to receive an offense because Jesus, though God, did not seem to care that he was in prison. Hadn’t He inaugurated His ministry stating that He would “set the prisoners free”?. To this Jesus deftly adds the words quoted above, “blessed is he who is not offended.” It seems clear Jesus wanted John the Baptist (and us) to be offense-free. It was bad enough that he was in one prison without being in a prison within a prison.

Bill Johnson shares great insight on this verse when he gives us a second clear choice that we can make when an offense is given: choose to dwell on the positive and not on the negative. Don’t fixate on the fact that you are in prison. Dwell on the fact that the blind are seeing and the dead are being raised. Dwell on what God is doing, not what He is not doing. Get your mind off of those things that offend and back on God. In this way you can actually be free no matter where you, even in a real prison.

On a personal level, though there are times when someone intends to offend you (that is another study, based on Matt 18:7), most of the time people do not mean to hurt you. So what should you do? Recall all the good things that the offending person has done. Dwell on those things and not on the unintended blunders borne out of weakness, or ignorance, or just a bad day! In this way, you are releasing the one who has offended you, and imparting grace to him or her. Not only that, Jesus says you will be blessed. Well amen to that!

If we look around we will probably see the rubble and debris around us that symbolize offenses. As I see it, you again have a choice. You may decide to go around and collect them, then build them into a wall. Some people even take it to the next level; they collect other’s offenses too. If you really work hard at it, you might even have a fortress when you are done! Too bad they don’t know that by the time they are done, they are the only ones living there.

Or of course you can throw the debris in the rubble heap over the cliff. This is the choice to not only forgive (release) another, but to forget. That’s two goats: one to forgive, the other to send away into the wilderness (Lev 16:7-10). You’d be surprised at how good it becomes to walk or run or play in these kinds of fields. No rubble! No tripping and stubbing toes! Some people even take it to the next level; they start clearing the rubble of the people around them. This is when it really gets fun. Why, you can even raise a banner over this area, such as was prophesied by Isaiah nearly 3000 years ago:

Go through, go through the gates!
Prepare the way for the people;
Build up, build up the highway!
Take out the stones,
Lift up a banner for the peoples! 62:10

You know what the banner says? “Offense-free Zone”. Let’s raise it for all to see.