LOVE, HURT and UNDERSTANDING

“This same man that Jesus was saying ‘Feed my sheep’, He is the same one that denied Christ. He is the same one that was warned. He is still the same one that Christ told ‘on this rock’, He said ‘Peter, you are the rock, on this rock, I build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it’ And He is still the same one that was used by God after Jesus ascended to heaven”
He was the one that was used by God. Haaa…. hmmm…

So, you know how its popular that when people are toxic in your life, you get to cut them off… like you cannot continue to maintain toxicity or maintain a relationship with people that are negative or people that pull you down and I will say that I was really a "practicer" of these things. Not just because of what I hear but also my experiences.

My experiences taught me not to accommodate toxicity. My experiences taught me that when you give people room after they have been toxic to you, they will be toxic to you again. Recently, I had an experience that has changed something in me.

I was just sitting and this scripture just replayed itself in my mind and I had to search it out and read it. So, Christ was talking to Peter and He said, “Feed my lamb”. And, I’ve know this story, for a long time. Jesus Christ asked Peter, three times. Jesus Christ helped them and they had food and Jesus Christ was asking Peter, “Do you love me more than this? (the food)” and then He said “Yes” and Christ told him, feed my lamb.

And the next thing that dropped in my spirit was “Do you realize that this same Peter that Jesus was asking to feed His lamb, He denied Jesus three times?” “Do you realize that before He denied Jesus Christ three times, Jesus Christ knew and Jesus Christ warned Him?” And this same man that Jesus Christ warned, when Jesus Christ was warning that ‘you people will stumble because of me’ nobody talked. It was Peter that came and said ‘No, If anybody will, I will not, I can die for you’ And everybody followed him and also spoke.

Everybody was gentle, they wanted to come and catch Jesus, He (Peter) brought out sword, gba!, cut someone’s ear, gba!. Ahn ahn, Jesus Christ said ‘calm down’, Jesus put the person’s ear back. All the mouth, all the action… but when it became real, when it mattered, when Jesus Christ was being crucified, when there was no one supporting, when it counted for someone to speak up for Him and say ‘I know This Man, No. That’s not who He is.’ when it counted, they asked, they said ‘ahh, you are one of His disciples, we saw you with Him’ Peter said ‘e-eeyy, I don’t know This Man’ They asked, another set of people came. He said ‘I said I don’t this person’.

And it dropped in my spirit that “This same man that Jesus was saying ‘Feed my sheep’, He is the same one that denied Christ. He is the same one that was warned. He is still the same one that Christ told ‘on this rock’, He said ‘Peter, you are the rock, on this rock, I build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it’ And He is still the same one that was used by God after Jesus ascended to heaven”

Peter was the one that was used by God... Haaa…. hmmm… Then, I was thinking. Maybe sometimes, its more than a person's actions. Maybe sometimes its their heart. Maybe sometimes, its you knowing them, understanding them, knowing who they have been to you over time. Having a bit of insight into their heart towards you and in that moment of understanding, try love, try forgiveness, try looking beyond the mistakes.

Maybe in that moment of understanding try looking at the good they are and have been. Maybe in that moment of discernment, try not judging somebody from that one mistake. Maybe take a pause to remember the good that they have truly and sincerely being to you.

Maybe, give it a second thought. In some cases, that person has been designed to feed your lamb in your absence. In some cases that person that has been designed to take care of your business diligently, faithfully in your absence is the same person that would do something that terribly hurts you. Jesus Christ acted differently. No wonder He said the greatest commandment is love.

Love was the first thing. And then, that day I asked, the ability to see beyond people’s flaws and despite their flaws still see the good in them first. Jesus was being killed, He was being crucified innocently and there was no one to stand for Him and Peter denied Him clear clear. Not once but three times despite the fact that He was warned. And Jesus Christ was not just friends with him. Jesus Christ "depended", I’ll use the word "depended" on him. He said “Upon this rock I build my church”, He said “Peter, feed my sheep” Ahh, that thing burst my brain.

In our generation, so many of turn our backs on people very quickly, many of us are taking out toxic people from our lives very quickly and some of these toxic people have being good people to us but in one moment of making a mistake, in one moment of selfishness, in one moment of carelessness, they did something that was so… that broke us badly that when we came out of that brokenness, we completely cut them off.

I’m not saying keep toxic people in your life. Toxic people will be toxic. What I’m saying is, good people make mistakes. So, have you tried understanding first, have you tried love first, have you considered, ‘who were they before this mistake’? Have you considered, ‘If I take this out, what’s left of my relationship with them? Is it still something to hold’? If you take out that hurt, your relationship with them, is it worth keeping? In some situations, you may have to give some distance, you may have to give some space and in some situations some person’s may need to be given a lot of space.

However, it could be a good person, that made a genuine mistake, it sometimes is an error in character on their part, this one time. If all the other things joined together still makes for good. Will we be blinded by this one mistake that we cannot see past it and look to the other good that’s in this person.

I’d say what I learned from it is that I put love first. That in my dealings with people, when people wrong me, that I would try to put understanding first, that I would try to put consideration first, I’d try to see past the flaws and see into the good regardless.

You know, Jesus Christ didn’t ask him once, Jesus Christ asked him three times and from that, I see that Jesus Christ was not being careless with him. What I take from that is I’m not supposed to still be careless with people and refuse to learn from what they do, I should still be careful but even in that carefulness, be open to receive love.

Another thing Christ said when he was warning Peter, He said, the enemy has desired to sift you as wheat. Christ said, I have prayed for you. Ahh… as it was dropping in my spirit, I was so challenged, I was just thinking of myself, and I’m like… In that moment when I know this guy will betray me, will I pray for him?

Will I be able to think past the betrayal and say its not you, the enemy has decided to sift you as wheat but I have prayed for you. Will I still be able to pray for him in that situation. That was love, that was love, that was leading with love. He knew that guy will deny him but he didn’t allow that to blind him, He didn’t allow that to prevent him from loving him still. Instead He said I have prayed for you.

Now. I am talking to Christians, as christians, do we pray for each other?. When you see someone acting the way they shouldn’t be acting with you, do you judge them first or you pray for them first. Do you love them first or you judge them? Do you act in love with them? Do you even try to understand them? Do you try to see beyond that act? I really learnt from this and I hope that someone reading This does so too.

Yes, learn from what you have gone through with them but before you think to cut them off, try understanding, try discernment first. I hope this has helped you, I hope it has spoken to you. It has spoken to me. The fact that He had twelve disciples and add to it the other seventy he sent out but its this same Peter that had the call to “Feed my lamb”… hmmm, It was profound.

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Much love! Besos!!