loving one’s enemies

I hesitate to think of myself as having enemies in the biblical sense,  because enemies in that sense seems most evidently to be those who are enemies against God. They are the faithfuls’ enemies, because of the faithful, living in the way from God. Sometimes I don’t know why I have the few enemies I have. Other times though, I know I either rub them the wrong way, or we have conflict in a life situation which ends up unsettled. Sometimes hard to pinpoint or even surmise. I am not talking here about someone with whom one might have a conflict which then is resolved. But I’m referring to those who seem to be dyed-in-the-wool enemies.

It is especially galling when an enemy was once a friend. When one is ignored no matter what, or treated as one outside the family of God, and there is no reconciliation, then and there it seems one has an enemy. Or at least not a friend. When one has been a companion with another and is now rejected out of hand, even if for a reason that is either a sin, or could become a sin, but the other has repented of, then it seems the one withholding reconciliation has become an enemy. Of course in many societies in the world, simply to name the name of Christ means one has enemies who threaten their very lives. That is certainly not the case in the society in which I live.

How then are we to love our enemies? We can’t love them as friends, even though it is galling when they treat us as friends in certain contexts. As if they’re simply putting up with us. Are we seeing their perspective? Maybe there is some offensive way in ourselves we need to repent of, not only to the Lord, but also to them. Ironically, maybe they see us as an enemy, as well. That would be a good question to consider. Have I removed the plank from my own eye, so that I can really see clearly to remove the speck of sawdust from my brother or sister’s eye? Sadly one can treat others with contempt. Jesus said when we go down that path we can end up being in danger of hell fire.

Of course we know what the directive from Jesus is. We’re to love our enemies, to do good to them, to pray for them, and therefore be “perfect” as well as merciful, as our heavenly Father is perfect and merciful. We’re not to try to get revenge, but leave justice in God’s hands. At the same time, we should be like Jesus and Stephen who emulated Jesus in his death. Praying for our enemies right to the end, not for God’s vengeance, but for his mercy to them. That they might be forgiven.

As for those who are named among the faithful and yet essentially live as enemies, we’re to seek reconciliation. To do our part, and then to leave it in God’s hands.I consider being faithful to God and to the new covenant given to us in Christ, means to be faithful to each other as a brother or sister within the same family, the family of God. We should try to see the bigger picture around it, that perhaps they have a general problem which causes them trouble in other contexts. While wanting to be sensitive to whatever extent that may be true in our own life.

At any rate, we in Jesus need to show the world the difference following Jesus makes. A difference which involves loving the unlikeables, even those who are our enemies. Continuing to forgive those who continue to wrong us, that we might be forgiven, and bear the message of forgiveness and reconciliation in Jesus to the world. Together in Jesus for the world.

our broken witness

If there is one scandal in the church which I think is worse than all the rest, and there have been bad ones, I really think the worst is the scandal of all our divisions within the church of Jesus. They are everywhere. As great as the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church is, and one time I considered considering becoming a part of that communion,  they refuse to share the Eucharist meal with others who they acknowledge as Christians (even if their official documents deny that we are). The other great Church of the Great Tradition, the Eastern Orthodox are divided from the Roman Catholic communion having some notable differences with them, but by and large on the same page, and something like first cousins. Protestants of course are divided from the Roman Catholics. And within Protestantism there are numerous divisions. Among the evangelicals within Protestantism there are hundreds and more of divisions. One denomination (or you might say group, or tradition) alone has numerous divisions.

I’m not so worked up about our divisions if we work at unity, at living out the unity we have in the one faith we share in Christ, by the Spirit. But so often there are splits among us. Our witness is thus broken. Because part and parcel of that witness is how we live together, our life together in Christ. This is no less than a commitment which we are called to live out, work through and maintain.

On personal levels, we don’t take seriously the words of Jesus. That if a brother or sister holds something against us that we’re to go to them and be reconciled with them before we can worship. This is a tough one, and some people are going to refuse reconciliation no matter what. That’s between them and God, but we must do our part, whether we like them or not. Love lives beyond that, love reaching out even to enemies. But when brothers and sisters in Jesus are divided, that is nothing less than dividing Christ himself. And therefore not presenting Christ. Christ is known only where his Body is one in heart, mind, life and commitment together.

By this will all people know we are Jesus’ disciples, if we love one another. And we are to be brought to complete unity, in order that the world may know that the Father sent the Son. If we refuse to obey or take seriously these words of Jesus, then our witness is broken. Christ will not be presented in the way that he is, because we insist on living apart from his Body. Christ is thus broken as far as the witness to the world is concerned.

The Spirit works in spite of this. But the Spirit is grieved as well, and often quenched by us to be sure. Nevertheless God is faithful. His grace in Jesus is powerful. There is a love and witness in Jesus right within and therefore through his Body. A love that is meant to be shown to the world. And in that love Christ is made known. The love we are to pursue and be committed to, together in Jesus for the world.

 

fellowship

We’re in need of fellowship with each other as human beings. And this is no more so than in the body of Christ, the church. It can make all the difference in the world. Night and day.

It is a humble fellowship, a kind of in Christ as in immersed together in Jesus by the Spirit. It is meant to be a part of our church life. But it doesn’t automatically happen, though it’s as near us as the brother or sister is, in our gatherings. And yet we can be so far away. We can indeed withdraw and  then miss this life altogether.

But only in this life do we have light. If we insist in isolation, we obscure the light. If we hate our brother or sister, we live in darkness, as John tells us.

To be in Jesus means to be members together of him. When we are joined to him, we’re joined to all others who are in him. We don’t do well to be isolated from any one of them. Full reconciliation should be the goal. Even if it is incremental, involving a process and growth over time.

This is something to be treasured and guarded. When a church doesn’t practice this, it is not living up to its calling. Indeed it is not living out what it is as Christ’s body.

When we live this out to each other, we’re then living out the gospel to the world. I just touch on the most basic level of this: heart to heart communication. It will work its way out into all kinds of practical ways in helping each other. The world needs to see this through us. And when they do, they’re seeing the work of God through Jesus by the Spirit. A part of our calling in Jesus together for the world.

forgiving others

One important aspect of following Jesus is the ongoing need to forgive those who have wronged us. And to keep forgiving them.

That is part of the prayer Jesus taught us as his followers to pray:

And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Or the version in Luke’s gospel:

Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.

We do well to voice the Lord’s/our Father prayer, offering it as a prayer to God. And I think we do well to say out loud or under our breath, “I forgive so and so.” And on and on. And to keep doing that.

In Galatians we’re told to stop biting and devouring each other, or we may be consumed by each other. In other words being against someone and holding grudges is destructive to one’s spiritual health. Unity together as God’s people brings God’s blessing. Disunity seems to bring something of the opposite.

When I simply voice forgiveness for those who have wronged me, I am released from the hold they may have over me through God’s working in honoring and making real what I’m saying. I can let go of the grudge I have against them. What I’m suggesting is that with our step of faith in obedience comes the beginning of God’s blessing. It must not stop there.

Almost always, as Miroslav Volf has pointed out to us, when we are sinned against, we often sin back. So even if we were in the right in the matter or the victims, we end up sinning against the one who has hurt and victimized us. So that if they are aware of this, we may indeed have to ask them for their forgiveness in the pursuit of reconciliation. There may be exceptions to this rule with reference to people whose sickness may make them dangerous to others.

Of course all of this is possible only through Jesus and what he has done for us through his death on the cross. By offering himself, his body, he has broken down the walls that divide people. In and through himself, through his broken body for us. We are forgiven of our sins through his sacrificial death. And on the basis of what God has done in and through Jesus, we can forgive others. And ask for their forgiveness in the hope of at least the beginning of full reconciliation.

In a post to come I want to think through our need of asking for forgiveness. In the meantime give this video a look if you would, from a dear former pastor of ours, Pastor Ed Dobson. And how God worked in his life, and out from that into the lives of others.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the gospel

The gospel at its heart is the proclamation of God that his grace and kingdom has come in Jesus the Messiah. The one hope of the world. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke, at a crucial point in American history something of the goal of the gospel into this nation and its stronghold in opposition to that. At great personal cost not only in the end. He taught and lived out a resisting of evil by speaking and doing good. Not in returning evil for evil. Or even in defending one’s self.

The gospel brings reconciliation to God and humankind, and breaks down the barriers between humans. Racism divides peoples all over the earth. In America with the legacy of injustice in slavery, the struggle to overcome long after Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was far from over.

The church needs prophetic voices such as that we heard from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Speaking the truth of God’s kingdom come in Jesus into the the cultures of earth, the strongholds of sin in this world. Lacking this, we lack the outworking of the gospel. In fact we are not proclaiming the fullness of the gospel when we fail to see its application as touching all of culture and creation.

We know this world’s system will be overturned only when Jesus reappears. Now it is the church, Christ’s body on earth, which lives out God’s kingdom come in Jesus. The church which is the light of the world and the salt of the earth in and through Jesus, in its following of him.

And so the gospel is about personal salvation, yes. To know God personally. And it is also about the salvation ultimately of the world. In terms of God’s kingdom come in Jesus. A light now present by which the powers and authorities will be judged. Meant to bring good even here and now. Through us in Jesus. As we await the one who will bring complete peace and concord when heaven and earth become one in him.

In sharing this video, I am not endorsing the organization which posted it, nor am I now suggesting that the organization is not doing good.

Anna Rapa on the ministry of reconciliation through Jesus

Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: Jesus died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own.

Because of this decision we donʹt evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly donʹt look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life begins! Look at it!

Instead of selfishness, we now can be selfless.  Instead of greed, we now can give generously what we have.  Instead of being filled with lust, we now can love people who are ugly.  Instead of being prideful, we know that everything that we have and are comes from God.  Instead of seeking the approval of others, we now know that we have God’s approval.

All this comes from the God who healed our broken relationship with him, with ourselves, and with each other.  He now asks us to spend our lives working to help other people heal their broken relationships.  If we choose to walk with God, then our job is to also walk with others and bear their burdens and help men and women drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right.

But how is this possible?  It’s possible because God made Jesus, who had no brokenness, to be broken for our sakes, so that through his body and blood, we could become the children of God.

Anna Rapa, Second Story: seeing what’s not being said, 75-76.

“This passage is a mixture of the author’s paraphrase,
the NIV, and The Message…”

when one is hurt

How many times have we been hurt by someone? Perhaps it has been unjust, at least in our minds. Or perhaps we have a lingering wound.

I can tell you that when such a wound is reopened we are under a most severe temptation at times to lash out in anger one way or another. And any other hurts, real or questionable, can come to the fore and be apparent to us.

This is when we especially need to draw near to God in prayer, and when we need a brother or sister in Jesus alongside us, to pray for us. If I’m alone, I may well recite both the Jesus Creed (Mark 12:29-31) and the Lord’s Prayer, the Our Father prayer (Matthew 6:9-13), which I want to do on a regular basis, anyhow.

When we are hurt we are prone to temptation and sin. This has to be one of Satan’s tactics against us. That is especially true when those who belong to Christ refuse to be reconciled to each other. We are then not living out the truth in Jesus.

I am becoming convinced that love for one’s enemy is key here. Although it is especially challenging when a friend hurts us. What kind of mindset do we have? Is it like Jesus, or not? The one who called Judas friend to the end, and prayed on the cross, “Father, forgive them. For they know not what they do.”

When so hurt it can be a time of drawing near to God, near to Jesus. And hopefully in God’s grace, come to share in Christ’s sufferings. At least to be humbled. As we await the full reconciliation and communion through Jesus in God’s love in the age to come.

grace does not disgrace others

There are Christians who sometimes hold strongly to grace in word but fail to live it out in deed. Or they fail to understand it in terms of the biblical story, especially as it is told about Jesus, who fulfills it.

For the life of me I really don’t have much faith in the faith of those who are willing to trash another brother or sister in Jesus, and not forgive them. When you cut off another openly, and then refuse to receive them back, no matter what you say, you don’t believe in God’s grace in Jesus.

The body of Christ is family; those who do the will of the Father Jesus’ brothers, sisters and mother. We don’t always see eye to eye even on serious matters. But on the basics of the faith we’d better see eye to eye if we’re to remain in fellowship with God and each other. We are told that as we walk in the light as God is in the light we have fellowship with each other in Jesus, and the blood of Jesus keeps cleansing us from all our sin. But if we hate our brother or sister in Jesus, we are not in the light nor of it.

The way of Jesus is the way of forgiveness and renewed fellowship. It is the way of God’s grace which not only forgives but cleanses. People are changed. It also accepts each other even if we don’t understand everything in the same manner, including disputes we might have. Maybe an arbitrator is needed, one who is a pastor or who walks closely to Jesus. Maybe even a couple of them for a matter.

We can be thankful for God’s grace through Jesus which is at work in our lives whatever the case. But we also want to be those who are open to that grace in terms not just of our individual walk in Jesus, but in God’s community in Jesus. Our identity is closely knit in that community where all is love–the love of God in Jesus.

As we confess and forgive and are reconciled in full communion, only then are we living out what we are in Jesus as his one Body. The Body of Christ is meant to live with each part doing its work together in love under our Head, Jesus. Then the world will see and begin to see in us the Lord.

the Father’s heart

There are a number of points in which the Vineyard movement, what might better be called the Vineyard churches excel in, one of them being the importance of knowing the Father’s heart. We need to take to heart this emphasis because in Jesus by the Spirit, that is most definitely a part of our spiritual DNA.

Many of us did not have a close relationship with our fathers, who may have been distant, and in some cases even abusive. So we struggle with the idea of God’s fatherhood. And in a sense God’s nurturing of us, like a mother. That may especially be difficult if we never bonded with our mother.

Jesus lived in close relationship, heart to heart with his Father. Jesus knew and trusted his Father. He longed to spend time with the Father while here on earth.

We in Jesus need to know the Father’s heart. By the Spirit to call him, Abba Father. To learn to sit on his lap. To begin to know his heart of love, his care for us as his children, his care for me as his child.

We also see the Father and his heart in Jesus. God is like Jesus. Jesus’ heart bursts with love for us; like father, like son. We are one family in him, and therefore begin to understand and experience this love ourselves, and for each other.

And this heart, the Father’s heart is not only for us, but for the world. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). It is a love which is family, and yet knows no bounds. Even embracing, and longing to be reconciled with enemies.

The Father’s heart. Oh, how I long to know it better. How I long to know the Father better, and grow in that relationship in Jesus by the Spirit, a relationship of love.

stopping

Slowing down has been good for me, something I took as a word from God for me in the past. But now I think I’m to learn a new practice: Stopping. Coming to a complete standstill.

Our Pastor Sharon had such a good word for us last week on what we need to do when a brother or sister in Jesus sins against us. I realize time and time again that I need to stop! Am I approaching someone who has hurt me because I’m ticked? Because I want them to repent? Those may have their place. Of course we should want an erring brother or sister to repent just as hopefully they’d want us to when we’re in err. But if it is not out of love for them, a love which does not think we’re better, but longs for full reconciliation, then it’s not a Jesus kind of love.

But what do I need to do sometimes more than anything else? Stop! I can be so quick with words, quick with thoughts, because some matters I’ve mulled over time and time again. I have answers, even if they’re provisional and not final. What I think is right and true.

But if not in love in the truth in Jesus, it’s all a waste. And besides, when do I know that I should just let something go? After all, we in Jesus are told to love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

It is a problem, though, when fellowship seems broken. Doesn’t Jesus tell us that if a brother or sister is offended, we need to go to them and be reconciled before we can acceptably worship God? Yes, but. I think we need to stop and pray. Our first response likely is not what God would have us do. At least not what God would have me do. We are told to be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to become angry.

In all of this I can only pray and hope and look to God for that full, final and complete restoration and reconciliation of all things in and through Jesus. While longing for some of that, even in its imperfection to become true in the here and now. Doing this together in Jesus for the world.