Reading: Isaiah 53: 7-9
How do we react to hostile criticism? If it makes us return the blow with anger to our criticisms, we need to learn from the colonial preacher Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758). Considered by scholars to be a perceptive philosopher, Edwards was attacked in a vengeful manner by the authorities of his church in Northampton, Massachusetts. They believed that he was wrong to teach that a person had to be born again before taking part in the Lord's Supper.
Although he was dismissed from his church, Edwards continued to maintain an attitude of love and forgiveness. A member who supported him wrote about him: "I never saw the slightest sign of displeasure in his face ... but he presented himself as a man of God, whose happiness was beyond the reach of his enemies."
Edwards was simply copying the example of the Lord Jesus. When they insulted the Lord, He did not return insult for insult. When they denounced him falsely, he remained silent, "like a lamb being carried to the slaughterhouse" (Isaiah 53: 7).
Do you have inner peace even when they criticize you? By asking the Holy Spirit to give you His help, you can, like Edwards, respond to accusations or gossip in a way that resembles the image of Christ.
Reflection: The worst criticism they can do to you can bring out the best in you.