As I’ve been arranging books on my new shelves, I’ve been unable to resist looking through several of them on the way. Picking up a previously-read book is like visiting an old friend. Old memories are shared, and past conversations are repeated. The memories are not always good, but the sharing usually is.
Such was the case when I spied a couple of bookmarks left behind in The Pursuit of holiness by Jerry Bridges, a book I read last year, but never blogged. At the first bookmark, this old friend brought me a Proverbs 27:6 moment.
How do we view those who do not show love for us? Do we see them as persons for whom Christ died or as persons who make our lives difficult?
I recall an unpleasant business encounter once with a person who later became a Christian through another’s witness. When I learned of this, I was deeply chagrined to reflect on the fact that I had never once thought of him as a person for whom Christ died, but only as someone with whom I had an unpleasant experience. We need to learn to follow the example of Christ, who was moved with compassion for sinners and who could pray for them even as they nailed him to the cross on Calvary.—Jerry Bridges, The Pursuit of Holiness (NavPress, 2003), 62–63.
I’m guessing that few among us won’t be convicted by those words. God grant us the grace to love as he loved.
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1 Comments:
#1 || 10·06·22··10:24 || NavPress
Jerry Bridges is one of our most beloved authors. We have recently come out with small-group curriculum based on his best works, including The Pursuit of Holiness. I'm glad you enjoyed this book!
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