I have learned that bleeding on purpose is a necessary part of brokenness.
I must be broken in order to minister effectively. Therefore, I must bleed in order to minister. I don’t mean bleed in the sense of broken skin and oozing sticky, redliquid. I meanbleeding emotionally and spiritually.
Let me explain:
In order to maintain my effectiveness in encouraging and loving others, I must be willing to suffer offense silently and graciously. Instead of holding onto the hurt offenses cause, I must take it to the One who bled for all and leave it there. Only then am I truly able to let Christ’s love flow through me unhindered to others.
Choosing to bleed on purpose is not an easy undertaking, but it is worth the momentary smarting pain of personal woundedness in order to be able to effectively impart eternity’s message to the souls that Christ entrusts us with.
If we, as ministers of the gospel, allow breaches to take root in us, we soon will find ourselves full of barriers and blockages;andour holy flow will trickle instead of gush.
We must pray. We must fast. We must so absorb the truths of the Holy Bible that they ooze out us like a leaky faucet. Oh, that we would “leak” Christ’s message of love and forgiveness all over the souls around us!
If we are serious about our Christian walk, we must learn to esteem others better than ourselves. (Philippians 2:3) We must exhibit genuine love to the least of those around us. (Matthew 25:41) We also must be so deeply committed to the cause of Christ that maintaining our ability to minister effectively is more important to us than our sense of entitlement, our ego, our personal goals, or our vindication. (Acts 16:37,2 Corinthians 11:24-30,Acts 5:40)
The disciples rejoiced that they suffered for Christ. (Acts 8:39) They must’ve bled externally from the beatings they received for proclaiming Christ, yet they were honored to be counted worthy to suffer for Christ’s name.
What about us? When we are slighted or mistreated do we recognize that Christ may be allowing a temporal suffering in our lives to either test our faith or help us grow? (Genesis 22:11-13,I Timothy 1:19-20)
How do we handle it?
I don’t know much, but onething I do know is that if I am to become a true disciple of Jesus Christ my love for HIM and HIS KINGDOM purpose must supersede all else. I must be so committed to the cause of Christ and so surrendered to myself that “nothing can by any means move me.”
“But there is another urgency before me now. I feel compelled to go to Jerusalem. I’m completely in the dark about what will happen when I get there. I do know that it won’t be any picnic, for the Holy Spirit has let me know repeatedly and clearly that there are hard times and imprisonment ahead. But that matters little. What matters most to me is to finish what God started: the job the Master Jesus gave me of letting everyone I meet know all about this incredibly extravagant generosity of God.And so this is good-bye. You’re not going to see me again, nor I you, you whom I have gone among for so long proclaiming the news of God’s inaugurated kingdom. I’ve done my best for you, given you my all, held back nothing of God’s will for you. (Acts 20:22-25, The Message)