Share This Episode
This broadcaster has 1370 podcast archives available on-demand.
Keep up-to-date with this broadcaster on social media and their website.
December 27, 2021 7:00 pm
“The shepherd needs great wisdom and a thousand eyes,” wrote the beloved church father John Chrysostom, “to examine the soul’s condition from every angle.” Chrysostom wrote these words as part of a discussion on the complexity of caring well for others spiritually. Since it’s impossible to force anyone to heal, he emphasized, reaching others’ hearts requires great empathy and compassion.
But that doesn’t mean never causing pain, Chrysostom cautioned, because “if you behave too leniently to one who needs deep surgery, and do not make a deep incision in one who requires it, you mutilate yet miss the cancer. But if you make the needed incision without mercy, often the patient, in despair at his sufferings, throws all aside . . . and promptly throws himself over a cliff.”
There’s a similar complexity in how Jude describes responding to those led astray by false teachers, whose behavior he describes starkly (1:12–13, 18–19). Yet when Jude turns to how to respond to such grave threats, he doesn’t suggest reacting with harsh anger.
Instead, he taught that believers should respond to threats by rooting themselves even more deeply in God’s love (vv. 20–21). For it’s only when we’re deeply anchored in God’s unchanging love that we can find the wisdom to help others with appropriate urgency, humility, and compassion (vv. 22–23)—the way most likely to help them find healing and rest in God’s boundless love.
Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Today's reading titled great wisdom and the thousand eyes was written by Monica Lareau, the shepherd needs great wisdom and a thousand eyes wrote the beloved church father John Chrysostom to examine the soul's condition from every angle, Chrysostom wrote these words as part of the discussion on the complexity of caring while for others spiritually since it's impossible to force anyone to heal. He emphasized reaching others hearts requires great empathy and compassion, but that doesn't mean never causing pain, Chrysostom cautioned because if you behaved to me to one who needs deep surgery and do not make a deep incision and one who requires it to mutilate yet missed the cancer but if you make the needed incision without mercy. Often the patient in despair at his sufferings throws all aside and promptly throws himself over a cliff.
There's a similar complexity and how Jude chapter 1 describes responding to those led astray by false teachers whose behavior he describes starkly. Yet when Jude turns to how to respond to such grave threats.
He doesn't suggest reacting with harsh anger. Instead, he taught the believer should respond to threats by routing themselves even more deeply in God's love for it. Only when we are deeply anchored in God's unchanging love that we can find the wisdom to help others with appropriate urgency, humility and compassion that we most likely to help them find healing and rest in God's boundless love. Today Our Daily Bread devotional Scripture reading is from Jude chapter 1 verses 17 through 23 by dear friends remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you in the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires. These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the spirit but you and your friends by building yourselves up in your most holy faith, and praying in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
Be merciful to those who doubt save others by snatching them from the fire to others show mercy, mixed with fear. Even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. Let's pray God of love, we are faced with evil and hate of us not to respond in kind anchor ourselves in your love. Give us the wisdom and compassion to see with the thousand eyes the needs and hopes of the other and to show them your love. Thank you father it's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today I'm Alicia Reisinger and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread ministries
