Jesus prepared a young group of disciples for the Gospel mission. They were to be His voice; His hands; His feet. He spent 3 1/2 years preparing them to face the world; demonic forces; and the religious sects. And among His many lessons He said, “it is impossible, but that offenses will come!” Jesus said that no one will bypass being offended. No one has ever worked in the Kingdom and not been offended. Peter wrote: 1 Peter 4:12 “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:” There will be issues regardless of where you are in life. An offense is not strange or rare. They are common. They come to every person in every place.
My concern is not if you are offended in life. We have all felt that sting from inside and outside the church. Some will say something off-color or insulting. My concern is our response to what has been done or said. I rise to say that it’s time for the Body of Christ to realize that wounds are common to the Walk. No one will avoid rejection, neglect, gossip, or hurt.
Jesus was wounded, bruised, despised, rejected, alone, abandoned by His men, scorned and mocked. Paul said, 1 Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man…” The word “temptation” here comes from the Greek word that means adversity. The word adversity is synonymous with distress, crisis, and trial. So before we believe that offenses are enough to cancel our commitment, let it be known that offenses are part and parcel of this life. Jesus said that in this life we will have issues to face, but then He said, “be of good cheer, I have overcome them” meaning, “you can too.”
Pastor Jeffrey Harpole