Unjust Treatment

One of the things that makes me crazy is unjust treatment; when my ideas are rejected before they've been listened to and understood, when food is rejected with, I don't like it" before it's even been tasted; when Peter and John are arrested (Acts 4:3) even though they've broken no laws. These things make me angry.

Peter and John, on the other hand, seem to understand Jesus earlier words about the world hating them because it hates him. They take it all in stride as though this is to be expected. And what was the result? "But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand." (Acts 4:4)

Their message was counter-cultural; their lifestyle was counter-cultural. Their commitment to the truth no matter the cost was uncompromising, yet they were never belligerent. They were never militant; they were never noisy and unruly; they never carried signs in front of City Hall, yet they changed the world.

They loved the unlovely. They touched the untouchable. They served the undeserving. They took mistreatment in stride. When challenged they said, "We must obey God rather than man." They said it firmly, confidently, but gently. And then they went out and continued to live the truth. 

Father, I don't have that in me. But then, I suspect they didn't either. Father, by your Spirit and your power, the same Spirit and power Peter and John had, would you develop and demonstrate the attitude of Christ in and through me. Let the world see Jesus, no matter how they choose to treat me. This can only be done by you, Father. It's beyond me.