“If your enemy .. is thirsty,
give him something to drink”
(Romans 12:20)
Reflection:
Jesus Christ had a completely different approach to people. He welcomed them all and saw beyond the external attitudes into their hearts.
Henri Nouwen tells of how a week spent in an AIDS clinic with those facing ‘a certain and agonising death’ changed the way that he prayed for people. In that week he heard ‘hints of a thirst for love that had never been quenched.’ From then on he prayed,
“God help me to see others not as my enemies or as ungodly but rather as thirsty people. And give me the courage and compassion to offer Your Living Water, which alone quenches deep thirst.”
All the people around us, including those who offend us in any way, have a thirst at the centre of their lives. It is often unrecognised but it has a marked effect on their thinking and their actions. You will know what it is.
“O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1)
Hold back the ungodly responses that sometimes leap up within. Quietly pray for them instead.
Response:
Affirm your place in God’s love so that you do not need to prove anything
Prayer:
Father You love me with an unfailing and everlasting live. Secure within the strength of Your love may I be free to love those who hurt and offend me. Amen.
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The Soaring Eagle 