Seeds of Compassion

Rob Bell was in Seattle a few weeks ago at the "Seeds of Compassion" event with the Dalai Lama and others. I don't need to defend Rob Bell, but he got hammered for even attending the event; or for not "witnessing" enough; for not using Christ-specific language. I wonder what I would say if I met the Lama himself...maybe I would be cheeky and ask him if he has been to Tibet lately or ask him who cuts his hair.

Anyways, here is a great quote from Bell when he was speaking at the Seeds of Compassion event. Apparently if you don't use the word "Jesus" or something like that, then it really isn't Christ like, according to some critics of the event. Lord, help us (hey,that was Christ-like language...)

“When somebody wrongs you, when they commit an injustice, when they do evil, whether it’s something petty or whether it’s the oppression of millions of people, it’s as if they have handed you this injustice, or evil. And so you can hand it back - that’s called revenge, that’s when you take the wrong, the evil, the injustice, the hurt, the betrayal, and you simply respond in kind. There is, next to revenge, another option, which is not to hand back the pain, which means that you’re going to have to bear that pain.

And when you choose not to respond with revenge or retaliation, but you choose to respond with forgiveness—and you choose to take it and bear that pain—it is going to be heavy, but it is going to lead to your freedom. It is going to feel like a death, but it is going to lead to a resurrection. It’s gonna feel like a Friday, but a Sunday is going to come.”