Many times, I, a celibate evangelist, am taught lessons by family people.
Three days ago I visited a persecuted church in a remote place in India. Here they run a school for poor children. One lady teacher had a small boy in that school. He was always in bad mood as his mother tended other children. So whenever she came near he kicked and boxed her. She bore with it patiently.
Many times I had seen parents being abused by small children at home, but not such publicly.
I knew that mothers usually don’t punish it fearing the psychological injury to the child. When they grow up in love they grow out of that jealousy and hostility. Fear just represses hostile feelings deep inside without eradicating it. So when repressed it is difficult to remove.
I began to think deeply and found that Christ’s message is also the same. He also suffered and still suffering our meanness and weaknesses like that mother. So he is most successful in regenerating souls. It is the difference between N.T. message of love-forgiveness and O.T. message of judgment and punishment.
But when I thought about my tendency, I found that it was far from N.T. and nearer O.T. When I am hurt by some new child of Christ, whom I have brought to faith, I can’t forgive like that mother. To bear a child for eternity, we evangelists should be more loving than that mother. But we seek worship and obedience. No wonder that our fruits often rot.