Wednesday, May 10, 2006
where to find comfort when you have been wronged
It is easy to become discouraged and depressed when others do you wrong. This can be even more painful when it happens in the church -- not only at the hands (or mouths) of fellow members, but even the pastor or leaders of your denomination. Where do you turn? We know the answer, but it is good to be reminded in these words of Martin Luther.
In Jeremiah 31:16 it says: "Your works shall be rewarded"; and St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:58: "In the Lord your labor is not in vain." . . . God wants to wake us up and to strengthen us with this beautiful promise. Then we will not pay attention to the ingratitude, hate, envy, and contempt of the world, but pay attention to Him who says: "I am your God. If the world refuses to thank you and deprives you of your reputation and property, even of your body and life, just cling to Me, and find your consolation in the fact that I still have a heaven, with so much in it that I can easily recompense you and give you ten times as much as they can take away from you now."
In Jeremiah 31:16 it says: "Your works shall be rewarded"; and St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:58: "In the Lord your labor is not in vain." . . . God wants to wake us up and to strengthen us with this beautiful promise. Then we will not pay attention to the ingratitude, hate, envy, and contempt of the world, but pay attention to Him who says: "I am your God. If the world refuses to thank you and deprives you of your reputation and property, even of your body and life, just cling to Me, and find your consolation in the fact that I still have a heaven, with so much in it that I can easily recompense you and give you ten times as much as they can take away from you now."
