Lord, I Pray They See You Not Me

Scripture: All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.  Matthew 10:22 NIV
“…a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.”  Matthew 10:36 NIV

Observation: Jesus is instructing his disciples before sending them out.

Application: As Christ was instructing his disciples on how to evangelize he told them of how they would be mistreated.  In these two verses Jesus clearly states that not only “all men will hate you because of me” but our enemies will be from our own families.  This is because our family members know us and have seen the people that we have been our entire lives.  I believe this is an indictment of our character.  How easy is it for our pre-Christ, selfish, self-centered personalities to speak louder than our witness to our loved-ones?  I don’t know if you have dealt with this but I sure have.  I haven’t been the best son, brother, uncle, dad, or husband.  Why would I expect my unsaved relatives to take my claims of Christ seriously?  My wish is to live a life that proves Christ’s transforming power before my family.  I pray that Christ show more than me, especially when I am around my family.

Prayer: Father, I pray that my earlier character faults not hamper my witness. My family knows me best and I understand how my old self could be a hard thing for some of them to forget. I ask that you remove the scales from their eyes and allow them to see the truly transformed Doug. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen

Doug