PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Matthew 12:15-21
What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?
“A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out till he has brought justice through to victory.” (Matthew 12:20)
Jesus withdraws from the religious leaders who want to kill him (12:14).
He is not there to fight the system but to help the weak, weary and oppressed.
He is not quarrelsome, he is gentle; the skittish sheep are drawn to him.
A bruised reed is almost broken, and can easily snap if treated harshly.
A smoldering wick is barely burning, easily snuffed out if not careful.
Jesus kneels for justice, helping and healing those who struggle without hope.
Jesus doed what pleases God, not shouting but showing… living out God’s love.
Our job as Jesus followers is not to quarrel but to pursue justice for the oppressed.
To bring help and healing to the bruised and the smoldering… to bring them hope.
Is this what we as followers of Jesus are known for in the world?
How many bruised weeds are broken, smoldering wicks snuffed out, by our ‘justice’?
I sense the Lord calling me to stop protesting and start demonstrating!
To seek those bruised and smoldering without hope, and gently show them Jesus’s love!
PRAYER
Lord, quarreling gets us nowhere. Help me to put my faith into action, so that the bruised and smoldering can experience hope in God’s gentle love.
We are vulnerable in so many ways. It is easy for us to be ‘snuffed out or broken’ – Jesus knows and in this passage Matthew says that Jesus is the one the prophet Isaiah said would be the servant who serves so that “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he has brought justice through to victory.” Jesus knows my every weakness and my anxious heart – fan my smoldering wick and heal my bruised nature – help me to serve as you did Lord Jesus – with gentleness and care! Make my vulnerability and opportunity for strengthening in you1
I need to be like Christ unto all. He came to serve and I must do the same. May His Spirit work in me and through me that I am an instrument of His peace showing the love of God in all I do and say. Knowing – Loving – Doing His will.
Lord make me an instrument of peace,
Where there is hate let me sow love.
Where there is injury let me sow
A pardon deep as the flowing seas.
Where there is doubt let me sow faith.
Where there’s despair let me sow hope.
Where there is dark let me sow light
Where there is sadness let me sow joy.
O loving Lord may I not seek
To be understood as to understand,
To be consoled as to console,
Or to be loved but to love all.
For it’s in giving that we receive
It’s in forgiving that we’re forgiv’n
And it’s in dying that we are born
To eternal life, to eternal life.