“To some you must be compassionate because they are wavering; others you must save by snatching them from the fire, to others again you must be compassionate but wary, hating even the tunic stained by their bodies.”

Several years ago, I had the good fortune to attend a “Spiritual Gifts” workshop. I remember one of the gifts being identified as the gift of discernment. I thought at the time that was a little bit strange – discernment seemed an awful lot like judgment. We all know that we are charged to not judge lest we be judged. Maybe I didn’t understand that word, discernment, exactly at that time. But I think that the writer of Jude understood it a bit better than I did. Jude is not charging us to be arbitrary in judging our fellow men but he is charging us to be discerning in our relationships and shrewd in our strategies. We need the ability to determine the most effective way to minister to our fellow men in order to bring them into the full fellowship that we so enjoy. Sometimes that is not easy. It is very difficult to hate the sin but love the sinner – especially when we find the sinner in the mirror.

DEAR LORD, PLEASE GRANT ME THE WISDOM TO KNOW WHEN TO ACT AND HOW TO ACT SO THAT I MAY BE AN ENHANCEMENT TO THE WORK OF YOUR KINGDOM AND NOT BE A DETRIMENT. MOST OF ALL I PRAY FOR THE COMPASSION TO LOVE ALL YOUR PEOPLE. IN CHRIST JESUS’ NAME. AMEN.

– Shared by Charlotte Batts