"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." John 14:27
I while ago I recall seeing a bumper sticker proclaiming that "Mean People Suck!" At the time, I cannot say that I fully realized its depth of meaning; however, its reality has become crystal clear as of late. It seems that some people purpose themselves to treat others badly and to go out of their way to wreak havoc. Why is this? More importantly, how do followers of Christ respond?
This conversation is not directed to occassions when unbelieves offend us; it focuses on Christians who choose to act in ungodliness thus destroying the unity of the Spirit.
Living a life submitted to Christ assumes allegience to scriptural directives. Romans 12:18 challenge us to "be at peace with all men". Matthew 6:14 and Ephesians 4:32 urge us to "forgive others" so that we too will be forgiven by God. This is incrediblly powerful, yet at times seems almost impossible and unattainable.
When we are deeply offended by another, through our pain it is difficult to take the higher road of forgiveness and peace--let alone go to that person to talk out the issue (Matthew 18). Often times it is easier to carry the pain and in doing so expose the tragedy to those around us--creating further disunity. However, it is at these times that we need to cling to I Corinthians 13:5 which declares that love, "does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered". The NIV translation of this verse reads that love, "is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs".
Love "keep no record of wrongs". Seriously? Is this possible? Through Christ, all things are possible. As we submit to Christ and allow Him to speak into our heart, we can be positioned in the most beautiful setting of His peace. We are called to love. As easy as it sounds, it is the most difficult of commands. When we look through the eyes of Christ's love at those who appear to purpose themselves to discredit us or hurt us in some way, our perspective is vastly different than looking at them through our human eyes. A common saying is "hurting people hurt people". I couldn't agree more. When Christians are not choosing to live according to I Corinthians 13, their lives are not being lived according to God's relational plan. Nonetheless, we are called to live a life in harmony with biblical principles. We are called to love.
Love is recognized by looking at our heart. What flows from our heart in the midst of these types of trials clearly identifies where we are in the situation and if we are modeling I Corinthians 13.
Although I have not mastered the art of Christ's commands to love and forgive, I strive to live this life of peace. Love can only be accomplished in the Spirit. It is through the Spirit that love confronts or turns the other cheek. As we submit to the Lord and His purposes, He directs our steps in these trying situations.
May we continue to pray as Christ taught us as recorded in Luke 2, "thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven".
The road may be difficut at times, but the journey is worth the effort!
Great post. My mind immediately went to the book "Love and Respect" which I read during premarital counseling. The book is based on Eph. 5:33, "However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband." The premise is that women need love more than anything else and men need respect more than anything else.
ReplyDeleteIf the wife in this verse is a typical woman and the man a typical man, I believe the concept can easily be applied to the rest of our encounters albeit not on the same level as the husband and wife's own relationship is. BUT...
If we were, by the grace of God, able to treat every woman we encounter with the love she deserves as a child and image bearer of God and every man with the respect he deserves as a child and image bearer of God how would the Body of Christ be changed?
Could the world be changed?
I had written this out once before in a much more elegant way, but my internet cut out and I lost it so you now get the pleasure of reading the shortened version.