God's Heart for Difficult People

We tend to be indignant at times, don't we? Quick to evaluate and eager to opine. But standing from a place of judgement and retribution is best avoided by mere mortals. Saying that, I confess, I've been there. I've been all too ready to call down fire from heaven on my adversaries, just as the disciples of Jesus did in the account given by Luke in his gospel,

When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” ¹

Jesus was about to ascend to heaven to prepare a place for those he came to save, but his disciples showed a completely different set of intentions in their response to the unwelcoming spirit of the Samaritan townspeople they encountered. They were likely offended by the face of rejection staring at them and probably felt a tinge of self-righteous indication towards those who would dare oppose the followers of their great rabbi.

They had a perception problem. They didn't understand how the Lord sees difficult people. This problem with the disciples' knowledge of the Lord's heart towards difficult people showed itself in several ways.

First of all, the fire that fell at Elijah's request did not destroy the people, it consumed the water-soaked sacrifice on the altar Elijah had constructed to the Lord. The disciples added the "fire from heaven to destroy them" part. It can be too easy to misconstrue and misquote Scripture, misrepresenting the heart of God toward people.

Secondly, the story of Elijah tells us that God, who is God over all, was working to turn the hearts of his people back to him. ² God's intention is not to destroy, but to reconcile. He is not a God who is intent on burning up the misguided and lost (even those not yet found) but rather desires to see salvation for the lost and is quick to respond to all who would come to him.

Thirdly, and very importantly, the account of Elijah and the prophets of Baal points us to the death and resurrection of Christ, the epitome of how far God goes to save lost souls.

Just as Elijah commanded that water be poured over the sacrifice on the altar three times, even filling the trench surrounding the altar, to ensure that there would be no doubt of the power of God in what was about to happen, so Jesus lay dead three days in a tomb. With no chance of resuscitation, the only and undeniable reason for Christ's resurrection would be the power of God. While Baal, the god of the false prophets who claimed his name, was sleeping and unresponsive to the pleas of his followers, Jesus no longer lays "sleeping" in his tomb. He is alive, he is risen.

While man's religion requires works and striving and self-goodness, God provides salvation by grace through faith, void of the efforts, strivings, and filthy righteousness we have to offer. It is a free gift. It is not earned by shouting and dancing and flagellation. I'll say it again - it is a free gift; it is just a prayer away.

When Jesus rose from that grave, the nail was put in our enemy's coffin. Death had lost its sting. Satan was dethroned. And we were set free from the oppression of man's religion and our own guilt and shame. Just as the prophets of Baal, the insidious enemies of God's people, were defeated and dealt with.

So, how should we approach difficult people in our lives? Not as annoyances, not as enemies to our mission, not as those we could do without. We should view the difficult with grace, for that is how God views us. His desire is that none would perish. ⁴

References

¹ Luke 9:54

² 1 Kings 18:37 - Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

³ Malachi 4:6 - "He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction."

⁴ 2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.