“Those who passed by
hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying,
“You who are going to
destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself!
Come down from the
cross, if you are the Son of God!”
Matthew 27:39-40
Have you ever been
taunted by someone?
They may challenge
you to do something you would
not do had they not been there to taunt you.
Responding to a taunt
can be very foolish.
As believers,
specifically, and as the church generally, we can be taunted in such a way that
our response takes us out of the will of God and damages our testimony in the
process.
The enemy, often
veiled in a culture far withdrawn from God, comes to taunt.
It’s not as if he
says – “Go ahead, I dare you to respond in the flesh.”
He is far too subtle
for that but that is his motivation.
He will attempt to
draw out of us a response that then allows others to point their fingers and
say: “See, I told you that’s what all Christians were like!”
Well, we don’t always
present Christ in the best way.
But let us grow wiser
in our response to taunts.
Let’s learn to
respond as Christ responded on the cross.
What did He do when the
insults were hurled at Him?
How did He respond
when taunted to come down of the cross?
The answer is –
nothing!
Nothing, that is, would
move Him from responding outside of the will of God.
At that moment, the
will of God had Him nailed to the cross.
Love caused Him not
to flinch at the taunts, the insults the “I dare you” of the enemy.
You and I will be
taunted to step out of His will and respond in the flesh.
When that happens remember
these words –
“The weapons we fight
with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power
to demolish strongholds.”
II Corinthians 10:4
“For our struggle is
not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realms.”
Ephesians 6:12
Wage war humbly prostrated
before the Lord in prayer!
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