Nashville, Tennessee, United States - The Upper Room Daily Devotional "Healing Hurtful Hearts and Homes" Thursday, 27 March 2014 - Read Romans 15:1 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each one of us please his neighbor for that which is good, to be building him up. 3 For even Christ didn’t please himself. But, as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”[a] 4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that through patience and through encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 Now the God of patience and of encouragement grant you to be of the same mind one with another according to Christ Jesus, 6 that with one accord you may with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Therefore accept one another, even as Christ also accepted you,[b] to the glory of God.
Footnotes:
a. Romans 15:3 Psalm 69:9
b. Romans 15:7 TR reads “us” instead of “you”
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.--Romans 15:7 (NIV)
The telephone rang at 2 a.m. “This is the police department. We’ve picked up a mother and three children. The kids are in pretty bad shape.” Such calls have become a routine part of my life in my almost 30 years as a social worker. Witnessing the physical, sexual, and emotional abuse or severe neglect inflicted by out-of-control adults has colored my world and filled me with deep anger. Sorrow followed anger as I saw many children had learned the defense, “I’m gonna hurt you before you hurt me.” I knew that without intervention, they could easily follow their abusive parents’ pattern. Many of these adults had never experienced genuine love and acceptance. They didn’t know how to appropriately care for a child. Often I was tempted to go through the motions of trying to help them without showing genuine love and respect. But I learned that when I allowed God to love through me — to change me — I increased the likelihood of seeing lasting change in both parents and children. By confessing my own brokenness, I could more effectively minister to theirs. When we acknowledge our own imperfections, we can point others to God’s love, which heals the brokenness in each of us.
The Author: Diana C. Derringer (Kentucky, USA)
Thought for the Day
In order to give love, we must first receive it.
Prayer: O God, work through me, love through me, heal through me. Amen.
Prayer focus: Abusive families
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