The Gospel isn't mean, so why are we?

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Have you ever tried to defend Jesus in a way that wasn't holy? Because I sure have! Today we will be dissecting two verses in Luke that clocked my tea on how I came across to others when defending the faith. Luke 22:50-51 says, "Then one of them struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. But Jesus responded, "No more of this!" And touching his ear, He healed him."

It's noteworthy to recognize how Jesus undoes something that someone else did in His name. Sources say the disciple who committed the act was most likely Peter and the servant's name was Malchus. The context of the verses are moments prior to Jesus' arrest and soon crucifixion. Judas came with the mob of guards and out of anger, hurt and maybe fear, Peter defended Jesus without consulting him first. Knowing that this was God's will, Jesus knew fighting was not going to bring any good, so he healed Malchus' ear. Jesus had cleaned up a mess that was made in His name!

Peter was a character for sure, and he had a lot of L moments, but instead of judging his stupidity, we have to accept that we ARE him, just in the 21st century. When have we defended the faith in a way that didn't showcase Jesus in a good light out of impulse due to anger, hurt, or fear? It's like jumping into drama to defend your best friend just to make things worse for her, or stepping out to fight for the kingdom but forgetting to bring the kings heart with you, or in even simpler terms, defending Jesus on social media in a hateful way. Our thoughts behind our actions are saying "do it for Jesus!" but our actions are not replicating the love He has displayed, especially to those that persecuted Him. We can't fight for Jesus with any sort of violence. It's such a contradiction.

John 13:15 says,"Do as I have done to you." Jesus is calling us to emulate his actions of love, patience, grace and humility. This goes for every situation, but relating to the topic, when we approach people, it cannot be with hate. You don't get to peoples hearts with violence, you just escalate the situation. You prove them right. You fly right into their trap. Getting to peoples hearts require love and humility, since we're supposed to be set apart from the world. Why would anyone in the world want to change their ways if WE don't.

You correcting someone in love who just received it differently is different than you cutting off someones ear with a sword out of impulse. We HAVE to stop defending out of impulse, or a "feeling" because it can come across as "I'm holier than thou" or "you're condemning them" when we aren't aligned with the Holy Spirit. Because God is the embodiment of love, we have to invite the holy spirit in to intercede on our behalf so we can do it correctly. Whether that's judging righteously, correcting with love, holding someone accountable, or just sharing the good news to others. Pray with intentionality and ask God for the right words and tone to express, IF... that's what He is telling you to speak on.

He is not calling us to argue with folks in the comments of every athiest video, or call someone out on the spot, or rebuke someone indulged in sin. The zealous and intense feeling we have when wanting to share to people about Jesus can result in all of these examples if we aren't wise. We do exactly what Peter did. Result in violence and leave Jesus with a mess to clean up. Just a trail of ears for him to pick up and heal. So if God isn't telling you to speak on something, just pray and keep it pushing. Learn to stay quiet and walk away. A lot of people want to fire you up just to prove to everyone that "all christians are the same". You know, Hateful. Judgy. Cultish. This is from the enemy, so just walk away from the fight, it's not worth the mess.

We were called to be in a partnership with God. We protect the ones we love, we defend and sacrifice. So what does fighting for Jesus truly look like?

-Pursue righteousness, in simple terms means choosing to chase after the things that please God instead of what just feels good in the moment. It’s like saying, “God, I want to reflect You in how I live, love, think, and grow.”

-Adapt the fruits of the spirit, like godliness, patience, faith, love, and gentleness. These can only be adapted by the help of the Holy Spirit

-Fight the good fight of the faith, which is in 1 Timothy 6:11. This means to actively engage in your faith journey rather than passively waiting for things to happen.

Most of the ways we can defend Jesus focus on ourselves and how we can grow and mature, just like Peter did because he made mistakes, but instead of getting hit and staying down, he got back up. So this post isn't just a call out to our behavior, but also meant to be an encourager that if you have gone about situations in the wrong way, you're not alone and it'll probably occur repeatedly until your heart finally gets it right. If Peter can bounce back after reacting impulsively, so can we, and that doesn't change Jesus' view of us.

Exodus 34:6 says that God is "slow to anger and abounding in love." So don't think Jesus is picking up these ears and healing people while rolling his eyes at you for the fact that he has to keep doing it, because that isn't a thought from Jesus, but the enemy, to get you to pursue a level of perfection when that is far from what the Word of God says. Jesus heals, restores and turns things to good in every bad situation, so rest assured he is not worried about how many ears he has to heal. This is not a fight against people, but the forces that try to pull us away from God. So let's remember that and stay encouraged!