When Betrayed by a Friend
| There is a terrible sound in the word "betrayed". To betray someone is to deal treacherously with them. Betrayal is the opposite of loyalty, and the more we love loyalty the more we loathe betrayal. In a hard and cruel world such as this we are not surprised when we are hurt by our enemies, but no one expects to be hurt by a friend. Few things, I imagine, would have hurt our Lord more than to be betrayed by one of His own disciples. How do we cope with betrayal? How do we handle our lives when we become a victim of treachery by a friend? First, we must take our pain to God and invite Him to invade our hearts with His soothing balm. Who better than Jesus can sympathize with us in this kind of problem? It is perilously easy to turn elsewhere for comfort in such an hour-to drink, entertainment, literature, and so on. Some even attempt to push the matter out of awareness. But all painful situations must be faced, even though they do not have to be dwelt upon. We must let God minister to us in our hurt; He is the only One who can "restore the soul". Because hurt can quickly escalate into resentment, with the help of our Lord we must empty our heart of all bitterness and forgive. Forgiveness, it must be understood, may not always bring about changes in the other person (nor guarantee that he or she will want to be restored), but it will ensure release for our own soul. The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ stands and holds out wide appealing arms to all who have been betrayed. It says: "This is how Jesus dealt with His enemies ... and the friend who betrayed Him." In the light of that great fact can we do anything other than forgive? (By Selwyn Hughes.)
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