Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Annmarie was a young Slovak Christian imprisoned for her faith in Communist Eastern Europe. While imprisoned, her main desire was to see her torturer saved. So she spoke of the beauty and love of the Lord. Her torturer responded with more beatings, to which she responded with more love. In every pause of his whip, she would share God’s love for him. “I’ll beat the love out of you,” he threatened. “When you beat me,” she said, “I saw your hands and thought of how you must hold your wife with them and how blessed she must be… and how when you use those same hands to torture, it must bring pain to others in your life, and to you.” Her continual love ended up breaking his resistance. One day he asked her how to be saved and gave his life to the Lord. He then risked his life to obtain her freedom. If she could so love her torturer – shouldn’t you too love those who persecute you, certainly those who bother and irritate you? For the faithful and continuous love of God can turn even your torturers into saints.
From Message #1432 - The Upside Down Kingdom
Today, apply the radical, revolutionary, and totally unexpected power of love to those who have sinned against you. Surprise them with grace.
