Friend, do what you have come for

Immediately Judas went to Jesus and said, "Hail, Rabbi!" and kissed Him. And Jesus said to him, "Friend do what you have come for." Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him. Matthew 26:49-50

My morning devotional was on the above scripture. It just struck me that Jesus knew Judas would betray Him and He still loved him, He still welcomed him to the last supper and gave him the bread and the cup. His body and blood. He knew that Judas' betrayal would usher Him into His ultimate destiny. Death on a cross. A sinners death for a sinless man.

"We can't avoid getting hurt, but God can give us the grace to reevaluate the situation and realize that the person you thought was your enemy, was a friend in disguise. God will never permit His plans for us to be sabotaged by somebody else's actions. He'll only allow your Judas to go so far and no further. As a child of God His purposes govern how much damage others can do to you."

The above statement just clicked with me. There is someone who i have struggled forgiving. My own personal Judas. I will walk in forgiveness for years and then something will happen and i find myself struggling again with those old feelings of anger and unforgiveness. But this morning something just clicked. This situation is a part of my life to make me lean more heavily on the Lord and to make me stronger. My enemy is really my friend.

So friend, do what you have come for.