A way of escape

2 Tim. 2:24 -26 "A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people's hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil's trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants."

This has become one of my favorite verses as of late. My favorite part is that perhaps God will change their hearts. Their is so much hope wrapped up in that one little verse - PERHAPS GOD WILL CHANGE THOSE PEOPLE'S HEARTS. Isn't that awesome - that God would be gracious enough to change their hearts.

THEN THEY WILL COME TO THEIR SENSES AND ESCAPE THE DEVIL'S TRAP... Again - more hope. There is hope for people to escape from the devil's trap, because they have been held captive by him. They have been held captive by the lies.

There is a song that has become very popular recently that discusses the dysfunctionality of a relationship. When things are good, they're great but then someone blows up and they fall into the old routine of fighting and telling lies.

The biggest issue with this song is the message that it sends. The message that the dysfunctionality of relationships has become the "norm." When things are bad we tell each other lies to keep them from leaving us.

I've seen this pattern in the lives of many people. They know the relationship isn't healthy, they want to escape but they don't know how.

So we teach the truth. We teach the truth with love, patience and kindness - just as our God is loving, patient and kind toward us. We teach the truth of the Gospel in hopes that God will change their hearts.