July 15th, 2025
The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
Vengeance or Grace?
I love the sermons of Watchman Nee, a Chinese evangelist, who’s followers wrote down his sermons to create books so more people could learn from his teaching. One of his stories told of a Christian he once knew in China. He was a rice farmer, and his fields lay high on a mountain. Every day he pumped water into the paddies of new rice. And every morning he returned to find that an unbelieving neighbor who lived down the hill had opened the dikes surrounding the Christian’s field to let the water fill his own. For a while the Christian ignored the injustice, but at last he became desperate. What should he do? His own rice would die if this continued. How long could it go on? The Christians met, prayed, and came up with this solution. The next day the Christian farmer rose early in the morning and first filled his neighbor’s fields; then he attended to his own. Watchman Nee tells how the neighbor became a Christian, his unbelief overcome by a genuine demonstration of a Christian’s love for others.
How do you treat others who are unfair toward you or who disappoint you? We sometimes feel like we should lash out at them because we were offended or our they have infringed on our rights. Our pride has been injured or we deserve better. The offender must be punished or, at least, put in their place.
However, that is not the way of Jesus or those who claim to be his followers. Jesus loved his enemies and encouraged us to do the same. In his Sermon on the Mount he told us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. See Matthew 5:44.
Why would Jesus forgo his rights and expect us to do the same. One important reason is because he wants everyone to understand his loving nature. If you and I have put on Christ, we should wear his nature. Anytime a nonbeliever receives grace when he would expect punishment or hostility it catches his attention. It causes him to wonder what is wrong with us and why we were so nice.
In Romans 12, Paul commands us to not return insult for insult or to take revenge on those who do us harm. He tells us not to be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good. Then he says that this kind of treatment will heap coals of fire on their heads. Watchman Nee said that this was the fundamental reason that the unbelieving neighbor changed. Had the Christian exorcised his personal right and crowded his neighbor out, it likely would have made life easier for him, but he would have failed at the mission of Christ, that being to seek and save the lost as he said in Luke 19:10.
The world and the flesh say that my key responsibility in life is to “get mine” or to “protect my own rights” or focus on getting my way. Jesus wants us to focus on Grace, putting others first and showing them the love of God when they deserve it least.
This Sunday, I will share with the FCC family a message from our “Holy Stories” series an amazing parable of Jesus that digs at our primal desire for equality or fairness. This one is titled, “Grace Ain’t Fair” from Matthew 20:1-16. You will learn that while this sounds like a criticism of Grace, you are blessed that this fact is in your life. I hope you will join us in this special message from our Lord.
Loving my enemies,
Jon
Vengeance or Grace?
I love the sermons of Watchman Nee, a Chinese evangelist, who’s followers wrote down his sermons to create books so more people could learn from his teaching. One of his stories told of a Christian he once knew in China. He was a rice farmer, and his fields lay high on a mountain. Every day he pumped water into the paddies of new rice. And every morning he returned to find that an unbelieving neighbor who lived down the hill had opened the dikes surrounding the Christian’s field to let the water fill his own. For a while the Christian ignored the injustice, but at last he became desperate. What should he do? His own rice would die if this continued. How long could it go on? The Christians met, prayed, and came up with this solution. The next day the Christian farmer rose early in the morning and first filled his neighbor’s fields; then he attended to his own. Watchman Nee tells how the neighbor became a Christian, his unbelief overcome by a genuine demonstration of a Christian’s love for others.
How do you treat others who are unfair toward you or who disappoint you? We sometimes feel like we should lash out at them because we were offended or our they have infringed on our rights. Our pride has been injured or we deserve better. The offender must be punished or, at least, put in their place.
However, that is not the way of Jesus or those who claim to be his followers. Jesus loved his enemies and encouraged us to do the same. In his Sermon on the Mount he told us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. See Matthew 5:44.
Why would Jesus forgo his rights and expect us to do the same. One important reason is because he wants everyone to understand his loving nature. If you and I have put on Christ, we should wear his nature. Anytime a nonbeliever receives grace when he would expect punishment or hostility it catches his attention. It causes him to wonder what is wrong with us and why we were so nice.
In Romans 12, Paul commands us to not return insult for insult or to take revenge on those who do us harm. He tells us not to be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good. Then he says that this kind of treatment will heap coals of fire on their heads. Watchman Nee said that this was the fundamental reason that the unbelieving neighbor changed. Had the Christian exorcised his personal right and crowded his neighbor out, it likely would have made life easier for him, but he would have failed at the mission of Christ, that being to seek and save the lost as he said in Luke 19:10.
The world and the flesh say that my key responsibility in life is to “get mine” or to “protect my own rights” or focus on getting my way. Jesus wants us to focus on Grace, putting others first and showing them the love of God when they deserve it least.
This Sunday, I will share with the FCC family a message from our “Holy Stories” series an amazing parable of Jesus that digs at our primal desire for equality or fairness. This one is titled, “Grace Ain’t Fair” from Matthew 20:1-16. You will learn that while this sounds like a criticism of Grace, you are blessed that this fact is in your life. I hope you will join us in this special message from our Lord.
Loving my enemies,
Jon
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