Sunday 24/05/2020
Have you been enjoying the isolation of the past couple of months too much? Even before the arrival of COVID-19, the statistics showed that around 10% of Australians of all ages were socially isolated.
Why does that happen? There are no simple answers, but a lot of the time it’s a breakdown in relationships. ‘I’ve been hurt so often, even when I haven’t done anything wrong.’ But if we cut ourselves off from everyone who hurts us, who will we have left?
You might not disconnect completely. You hide in plain sight. You just go along with whatever people say so you won’t get hurt.
Or you can give as good as you get. But that makes you no better than them. And Christians are called to be different.
‘I know I shouldn’t take revenge, but how can I resist it?’ We should treat others the way we want to be treated (Leviticus 19:18 & Mark 12:31). But that’s hard. It’s much easier to say, “Well, they did it to me! I’ll do it back!” But repaying evil with evil makes me evil.
God promises us the solution to our suffering and help to escape the cycle of revenge.
Are Christians doomed to being mistreated? It might feel like it. But God tells us something different. He says ‘You were called to inherit a blessing’. That’s why we must never repay evil with evil: because God blesses us in Jesus!
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Download the Kids’ Sheet
Click to access Kids__Talks_with_Colin_Ep4_Trust_God_Colouring_Sheet.pdf
Featured Resources
- Tactics by Greg Koukl
- One Minute Apologetics from the Gospel Coalition
- Can Baptism and the Lord’s Supper Go Online? (and an alternative view)
- Would a live-streamed sacrament be an appropriate emergency measure? by the Faculty of the Presbyterian Theological College
- 30 Edifying Things to Watch When Stuck at Home
Other Resources
GRACE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH WODONGA 