This month, our meditation has been excerpted from the book entitled Extreme Devotion, compiled by Voice Of the Martyrs. In the following passage, the account of Liuba Ganevskaya in Russia provides us with fodder for reflection and perhaps application:
I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness...to open eyes that are blind. (Isaiah 42:6-7)
Liuba Ganevskaya had been beaten repeatedly in the Russian prison. But when she looked up at her torturer, holding the whip above her back, she smiled.
"Why do you smile?" he asked, stunned.
"I don't see you as a mirror would reveal you right now," Liuba said. "I see you as you surely have been--a beautiful, innocent child. We are the same age. We might have been playmates."
God opened Liuba's eyes to see the man differently. She saw his exhaustion; he was as tired of beating her as she was of being beaten. He was frustrated that he wasn't able to make her reveal the activities of other believers.
"He is so much like you," God said into Liuba's heart. "You are both caught in the same drama of life. You and your torturers pass through the same veil of tears."
Seeing the man through God's eyes, Liuba's attitude changed. She continued talking to him. "I see you, too, as I hope you will be. A persecutor worse than you once lived--Saul of Tarsus--and he became an apostle and a saint." She asked the calmed man what burden weighed on him so much that it drove him to the madness of beating a person who had not harmed him.
Through her loving, concern, Liuba ushered her torturer into Christ's kingdom.
FURTHER: Earthly eyesight is often hindered by a variety of ailments: astigmatism, nearsightedness, glaucoma, and others. Just as our eyesight benefits from corrective lenses, the eyes of our heart can profit from spiritual intervention. Left to our own devices, we see only the bad in others and not the good. But God grants spiritual vision to those who want to see life from heaven's perspective. We can begin to see an intolerant boss, or someone who insults us, as a wounded individual who needs love. We can see behind the intimidating mask of a rebellious teenager to the frightened girl or boy who is crying out for acceptance. Do you see others with heaven's eyes? What difference would spiritual eyesight make in your life?
A moment of consideration: As human beings, we are easily affected by injustice or embarrassment directed toward us, often reacting with angry outbursts from us towards our antagonists. In these days, it doesn't take much to set people "off" and to become angry at others. It seems like our age wears its heart on its sleeve. BUT CHRIST CAME; these three words should make the difference in our own reaction to insults and slights. Christ said, "Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." (Matthew 5:39) Christ Jesus also said, "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire." (Matthew 5:21-22) Our Lord also stated, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." (Matthew 5:9) It has been observed that the reason there is so much anger, war, suffering, persecution and more, today, is because of our wicked human hearts. (Jeremiah 17:9). But--praise God--He has given a much-needed "heart transplant" to all who have turned to Him for salvation.
Thinking of Liuba, and the change in her that was needed to build up the courage to speak out, we should consider that there is pain in every change. There is the pain in creating the desired change, the sense of loss over what’s been changed and the new problems that the change creates. One trait of a change agent is their "risk resilience." In his book Morph, Ron Martoia defines risk resilience as "the ability to look at risk and, without aversion to the pain of change, be able to say, 'If this furthers the mission of the kingdom, then whatever it takes, we will do it.' " Ms. Ganevskaya accepted God's work in her heart, and bravely decided she would hopefully and prayerfully be an agent of change in her torturer's life. So she acted out of compassion and sought to establish peace between her torturer and her.
Making peace where there is a paucity thereof is an act of compassion. We look to Christ Jesus Himself as our Lord and Master, our Guide and Counselor. Note Matthew 15:32, in which Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way." They have come to me, and I have seen their need, and I will not send them away if I can meet their need. This sounds like both Jesus and Liuba. Liuba saw within the torturer a soul troubled by his past, and brought him to Christ's compassion and salvation--and thus met his unspoken need. It has been said that people look at others on the outside, but God looks at each on the inside. Liuba was able to see the troubled inner thoughts of the one causing her suffering; she was able to see beyond his intimidating mask and look at him with the eyes of Christ. This was called, above, "spiritual vision". We need that vision, to have discernment in these times.
Some people are extremely difficult to love. Recently a 22-year-old woman came in for counsel. As we talked, she poured out a story of hatred and bitterness toward her parents.
After reading to her from God's Word, I was able to lead her to receive Christ as her Savior. Almost immediately she said, "I want to be reconciled with my parents, but how can I love them?"
"By faith, I replied. "Go home and believe that God will give you a new love for your mother and father."
How can you love? Think of someone who gets on your nerves. Make a list of that person's good qualities as well as his/her bad ones. Ask yourself why he or she has those undesirable traits. Then in an act of genuine faith, resolve to love that person. Ask God to bless him/her. Prayer has a boomerang effect; it benefits the one who prays. Remember, it was when Job prayed for his miserable comforters that he was released from his own captivity. Prayer changes people; the above anecdote reported that Ms. Ganevskaya had been beaten numerous times. As a Christian, she was praying, and through her prayers, God had changed her heart toward her persecutors.
Often, prayer does more to change the person praying than it does the recipient of such prayers. Prayer can change our hearts; it is hard to be cross and angry with someone for whom we are praying. Keep in mind as well, the adage, "Walk a mile in his shoes". The idiom "walk a mile in his shoes" is a commonly used phrase in English with a rich history and diverse usage. The saying carries a profound message of understanding and empathy, urging one to experience someone else's life circumstances before passing judgment.
This message encourages empathetic understanding and discourages hasty judgments. It is a powerful metaphorical expression that urges empathy and understanding toward others by imagining oneself in their situation. In Liuba’s experience, it was God who changed her heart and led her to her tormenter. The following is an excerpt from a Christian song asking God to change our hearts; many of us have sung these memorable words:
Change my heart, O God,
Make it ever true;
Change my heart, O God,
May I be like you.
May we too, with spiritual vision, see beyond the façade of persons and sensitively learn if we can be agents of God's change in their lives; let us truly ask God to change our hearts to this end.