If you come home from work one evening to find your home and all your possessions have been a burned to the ground and your wife and children safe but crying… what would you do first?
Probably a dozen things would come to your mind. What are the first aspects of your identity to reassert itself would be the provider. You would call up the father in you, hug your wife, cuddle your children and get them to a safe place.
You would make sure they were fed, had a place to sleep, and an environment that would provide safety and security.
Every situation, good or bad, makes a withdrawal on our identity. We demonstrate our Christ likeness or our carnality. There is no one to blame for this since we are in charge of who we are and how we show up.
It is not what other people say or do to us that defines our life, It is our responsibility, it is our response. Jesus is the same towards us yesterday, today and forever. His love for us is unchanging. He certainly does not love us according to our performance, maturity or immaturity.
Whether we do well or badly, he is consistent in his heart towards us. He has a series of internal values that allow him to be consistent.
In what way are you inconsistent?
Do you give like for like… good and bad?
Are you changeable, judgmental, treating people as they treat you?
What would it mean for you to develop a Christ like consistency towards friend or foe ? What would have to change at this time?