Day 212, Year 1

Are You Afraid of Being Offended?

Jesus said, “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.” (John 8:37 NKJV)

One reason some people struggle to receive Jesus is that they cannot tolerate offensive words. Some individual with good social skills tend to observe others and approach only those who share their views, while avoiding those with whom they do not get along. As a result, they only associate with those who affirm and approve of them. Thus, it is quite difficult for such people to truly accept Jesus because they have difficulty accepting the challenges of others.

According to today’s verse, some Jews wanted to kill Jesus because their hearts could not contain His words. In my opinion, those people were easily offended for at least two reasons. First, they think too highly of themselves with a proud mentality; second, they find it difficult to integrate new beliefs with their existing ones. Even if their old beliefs are wrong, they refuse to be corrected by others. In the past, some Jews felt that Jesus’ teachings were inferior to what they had previously known. In fact, just as the Jews mentioned in today’s verse, some people who had had multiple discussions with Jesus and then wanted to drive Him away. Similarly, the judgment that deems the Lord’s way unsuitable, the fear of being offended, can both result from being deceived or unconsciously falling into prejudices or biases.

Having a big room in our hearts to contain the Lord’s Word is a prerequisite for dining with Him. Some ways to practice are, the harder a passage is to understand when reading the Bible, the more we meditate on it; the harder certain teachings are to do, the more effort we put in. Of course, we can search for high-quality materials to help us understand the scriptures that we have found unclear. We should cultivate a mindset of welcoming challenges. Fearless of hardships, we can readily and naturally dine with Jesus without holding back. Indeed, everyone who receives Jesus needs to have a broad mind, since not everything He said to us is what we want to hear. We need wide space in our hearts for Him to speak freely so that He can transform our lives. The secret to dining with Jesus is to humble ourselves before Him and to persist in being with Him, even if He says things that make us uncomfortable. In times of doubt, we should humbly pray to Him for wisdom and understanding, so that we can unveil all lies, break free from all deceptions, pursue the truth from our hearts, and subsequently welcome Jesus till the end.

Reflection questions:

1) Are you afraid of being offended by others? If so, how would you rely on Jesus to overcome it?

2) Do you have the spirit of welcoming challenges, resolving difficulties, and not being afraid of them? If you have, are you sure to welcome Jesus’ words regardless of what He will say to you?