Love in Action- Romans 12:
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.Do not be conceited.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
The Bible describes love as many kinds of acts….. but all have one goal- bringing God’s BEST to bear on what is in the interest of the other person. Christ loves. And Christ sets boundaries. And Christ speaks truth. And Christ is not afraid for one who does not receive truth to walk away….. and still he prays for that one, too.
Jesus’ tough love…..
Jesus called Simon Peter “satan” for being used by the devil to try to dissuade Jesus from following through on his mission that included his own death. He told Simon Peter also that he knew he would betray him. He rebuked Peter for defending him with violence at his arrest. He confronted religious leaders for their hypocrisy and called them vipers and worse. He physically attacked the position of those opportunists who were taking advantage of God’s people, charging exorbitant prices for sacrificial animals in the Temple and desecrating his Father’s house. He let a stupid, self-righteous money-loving young ruler go his own way rather than try to persuade him further to receive eternal life. He said that anyone who chose family or other demands on their time and attention over following him was not worthy of following him. He said to be in the kingdom one must “hate” family. He delayed several days rather than rush to the side of a dying friend to save him. Jesus’ definition of loving people sometimes seemed less than loving to the people to whom such things were addressed at the moment. One must get deep in the weeds of some of these situations to understand how love is being expressed…..
God’s ways are not our ways and our thoughts are not God’s thoughts….
This chart, from Ken Sande’s The Peacemaker, shows various responses in the face of conflict…. the center’s 90 degrees represent appropriate Holy Spirit led ways to respond. To the left are “flight” responses, to the right are “fight” responses. Learn the skills on the top of the hill. And read Matthew 18 for more instruction.
Notice that overlooking an offense is a valid peacemaking response… it’s just awfully hard to cling to and maintain one’s self-respect again and again in the face of those who trample the boundaries and disregard the feelings of others. Learn the skills on the top of the hill. And read Matthew 18 for more instruction. This, from Ken Sande’s The Peacemaker, shows various responses in the face of conflict…. the center’s 90 degrees represent appropriate Holy Spirit led ways to respond. To the left are “flight” responses, to the right are “fight” responses. Learn the skills on the top of the hill. And read Matthew 18 for more instruction.