7 Apr 2017
Some people you just can’t argue with. In the gospel, Jesus’ adversaries really
didn’t have any interest in listening to him.
They just wanted him out of the picture.
Jesus gave them the most down-to-earth, truthful and logical arguments,
but they didn’t really care. They
weren’t looking to be persuaded, certainly not by someone they despised.
And, of course, we run into those kinds of people
ourselves. (Sometimes, we might even be
those people.) You know, it could be a
family member or a friend who’s just dead set against the Catholic faith, in
spite of your example, your encouragement, and so on. Maybe it’s a neighbor who feels so
passionately about something, that they stop thinking and operate purely on
emotions. Some people you just can’t argue
with.
Now, Jesus didn’t stop what he was doing—sort of. He didn’t change his tune, and he didn’t
compromise on the facts in order to keep others on his side. He remained firm and truthful. But, at the same time, we know he left the
area and “went back across the Jordan.”
The hearts of the people were so hardened against him, that it made
little sense for him to stay and argue. Jesus
walked away.
But, as we know, he also came back. He came back to make his point abundantly
clear on the cross. And there Jesus is
teaching us something. We know that
there are people you just can’t argue with.
So what else can you do sometimes but simply . . . walk away—not to stay
away, but to come back from a different angle.
It’s been said that the best way to disarm your enemies is to
become their friend. Maybe that’s why
Jesus said to love our enemies. Words
failed to change the hearts of Jesus’ adversaries, but his show of love on the
cross succeeded. Some people you just
can’t argue with, and that’s the way it is.
But we don’t give up; we just stop preaching to them in words, and start
preaching God’s love to them by our actions.
No comments:
Post a Comment