The Bible is always clear on who God is, who we are, and what we're supposed to do, but the execution of that plan is often difficult. How do we put these truths into practice? What role do we play in each other's lives? How do we help those in the church and those outside? We must always remember that all truth plays out with real people, not hypothetical. National and international polls and data tell a story, but we are always more interested in how it plays out in our current relationships. So what does the Bible say about the practice of these truths in terms of redeeming relationships.
Principles to Practice (with everyone struggling with sin):
Let Love Be Our Primary Motivation
Romans 12:9-10 tells us, "Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Also, 2 Corinthians 5:14 says, "for the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died."
Motivation is everything. True motivation is what separates flash in the pan resolutions from life-long changes. If we are seeking inspiration alone to motivate us to love people (believers and unbelievers alike), we will always fall short. Loving people is a long term, hard, life long venture, not a check list that I scratch off to feel better about myself. If we are to truly love people in the way the truth demands, we must recognize a couple of important things.
- Love must be genuine – this is separated from a selfish love. Genuine love seeks the best of the other, not what feeds our desires. We seek what’s best even if it costs, wounds, or is hard, and it may not even give us rosy feelings right away. So much of our service can be self-love instead of genuine love.
- Love must be brotherly – Family love is significant. It’s the love we just experienced at Christmas. It transcends so many things (job, condition, stage of life, personality, etc.). Brotherly love is committed no matter what. It means that no matter what happens between myself and my brother, we will still have a relationship.
- Christ’s love must control – Christ’s love dictates the terms. We no longer love apart from the gospel, since everything must ultimately come back to that. It also informs us of how our motivation grows. As our love and affection for Christ grow out of a deeper understanding of the gospel, our motivation to love people will grow. A growing love for God will directly affect our growing love for people, which means the opposite is also true. A minimal love for people signals a low and diminishing love for God.
This post is excerpted and adapted from a sermon by Pastor Jordan, called "Redeeming Real People from Active Struggle." You can listen to the whole sermon or read the text here.
