Tried and Tested

Romans 12: 10           NKJV

Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another.

I used this quote once before in the last 40 days of this covid conundrum. It is from Thomas Paine who, in another very trying time in American history, penned these words, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” This quote is from December 23, 1776. No doubt the souls of people were sorely tried and some, no doubt, found wanting. Allow me to share more of the quote. He went on to write, “The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” Beautiful and riveting!

Does that quote stir your patriotic verve? Do you feel the resolution to serve one another even in the face of overwhelming circumstances? I do. I feel his resolve like an iron rod, and it moves me. And I thank my God that it moves me for what kind of person, or Christian, would I be if I do not feel the angst of my fellow Americans and the fight that we are in. Paine was speaking to a divided group, wasn’t he? He saw people tried and tested. He saw the immense pressure his peers were under. He also saw that some stood up to the pressure while others crumbled. Remember that some were pledging their lives and their fortunes for the greater purpose. They were putting their hard-earned wealth and liberties on the line to fight for a greater liberty. And freedom means that we must sacrifice it in order to preserve it. The very nature of liberty is that it has a cost and often the cost is liberty itself. Its great value is in choice. We choose to give up our lives, our fortunes and our self-interest in order to fight for the greater good. That is why the cost of liberty is liberty. It only works when it is freely given. We have preserved that choice in this country. You have the right to choose to be selfless which is what Paine was trying to encourage along with fealty and esprit de corps. Those words sound archaic. Have we forgotten what they mean? Or instead, do they still quicken the heart rate of Americans to this day? I pray it is the latter.

I am reminded also of this great quote, “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” Do you remember that one, and who said it and the circumstances of the time? It was another time the nation was in great distress. We are living in a historical moment too. What will be the refrain which comes of it? What will we say of ourselves when we look back at this time of crisis?

The dialogue in America has changed over the last many weeks. We’ve been fighting a foe that we cannot see and whose invasion is subtle and imperceptible. We cannot get the bite of our swords into our adversary, so we have turned on one another. We’ve changed from “We are all in this together” to a discourse of we versus them. Our jobs as Christians is to take our eyes off ourselves and ask what we can do for others. We began this way. What happened to us?

Look at today’s verse from the New Living Translation, “Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.” Let’s pick up this banner again and wave it proudly across our nation. Let’s again ask ourselves what we can do for others. What can you do that is purely selfless that helps someone else? What can you say that brings encouragement? It’s only been one week since “Giving Tuesday” and less than that from the National Day of Prayer. Perhaps those two memorials can inspire us again this week. Can you give something? God knows we need the prayer.

Please, take this time to assess where we are right now. Not politically, not the rhetoric but where we stand as Americans and Christians. To what are we giving our passion? Are we given to rants or prayer? This is the time when it gets hard. And this is exactly what Paine witnessed. What began well, wanes as people tire. Everyone is supportive and gung-ho in the beginning but as a situation wears on it takes real fortitude to continue to stand in the fight. But this is my question, if not us, then whom? To whom do we delegate prayer, love and compassion?

My beloved, I come to you today asking for your heart. I know you too are tired. There have been many pressures and inconveniences, but your country needs you. No, not the other guy, you. You are the most dedicated people on earth. And I have seen you demonstrate unparalleled kindness and compassion. So, I am asking you to reach deep down today for the very heart of God which resides within you. Christians, unite, in the mighty name of our Lord and pray from a heart of love and compassion. Do not allow anything to divide us. Let us not fail in our mission to love one another and to serve one another with compassion. Protect and guard your heart.

And I pray for each of you. I know you are tired and weary. I know you are suffering. I hold you up in the name of Jesus and ask for his soothing touch to comfort you. I pray all your needs met in the name of Jesus. Thank you.

From Christmas to the Cross

Romans 12: 10        (Amplified)

Love one another with brotherly affections [as members of one family], giving precedence and showing honor to one another.

This is a tall order to fill. Nonetheless, God would not have given us this directive if He had not also empowered us to do it. This, being the season of ultimate love, it is worthwhile to look at love from the author of love, our own dear Father. Even as we celebrate the birth of Christ, our sight drifts forward to the sure knowledge of Calvary. While the angels sang and the shepherds rejoiced in pure delight for the arrival of the Messiah, God in heaven knew the destiny of the babe, though men did not know. They did not realize that the Messiah would save all by sacrificing himself. Men thought of a conquering Lord of war. Little did they know that Jesus would overcome by his stripes and it was his deep and abiding love for you and me that gave him the strength to receive those stripes. It was love that brought him into the earth and it was love that put him on that cross. And it is love that will carry us all home.

He now lives inside of us. Because of that, his love also lives inside of us. We are able to love in a holy, self-sacrificial way because love has come and made its abode with us. Because He first loved, we love. And not because anyone deserves our love. Many do not deserve yours or God’s love, but He showed us how to love even when we were undeserving and unworthy. Now by his grace and because of His love and mercy, we love others, even the unlovely; those who are difficult to love. He loves them so we allow His love to work through us. Because He first loved a people; a person, who was unworthy of love and even unwilling to be loved, we allow him to express himself through us. During this season, His love is more touchable than ever. Let your heart be soft allowing him to fill you to overflowing with His goodness and love. Then pass it on. In his name.

Preferred Placement

Romans 12: 10

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor.

Can you imagine a pastor standing up in front of the congregation and delivering this message today? It just doesn’t sound like a modern message to me. I wonder how well it would go over. Brotherly love isn’t something we discuss frequently and I don’t think I have heard many, if any, sermons on showing preference to one another. I am not being critical. I am just saying that this might not be the way we think and dialogue these days.

You know, this really is a tough scripture when you think about it. We live in the “Me” generation and are working on getting our own needs met. Then we move into getting all of our desires met above and beyond all that we can think or ask. That’s Bible, it’s scriptural so how do we reconcile this passage with all the teaching on God wanting to bless us supernaturally?

I think the reconciliation is in our “getting”. When our eyes are on others and we are putting their needs ahead of ours then we are in the will of God. We don’t strive in order to get. That is the key. We allow God to be the giver rather that for us to labor in the getting. But this goes way, way beyond money and things. This is about humility in human relationships. 

When you are in a body of believers who all subscribe to this philosophy it really can be heaven on earth. The difficulty comes when you are constantly forced to interact with those who are not only carnally minded but self-minded. They are always seeking to fill their own desires so the human inside of us feels compelled to push back some. These self-oriented people may make you feel like they will swallow you whole. Therefore, your internal man attempts to defend itself. Don’t we wish we just didn’t have to be around them. Their dialogue is always about what they want and they really don’t care what anyone else wants. I can appreciate that if you have some of those people in your life it can be very taxing. It may be too obvious if you send them today’s Word of the Day.

Here is what we have to do. We must begin to pray for them. Notice I didn’t say about them. Praying “about” people means we are praying our agenda. Praying for them allows God to apply His will. Clearly the love of God is not perfected in any of us yet. Their self-centeredness is the revelation of their heart that they have not received the love of God. They do not yet have a inward revelation of God’s love for them personally. They may intellectually know that God loves them but the tape in their head of their unworthiness is probably playing louder. It is our unworthiness, though, that makes the love of God so profound. Once we accept our unworthiness and reconcile ourselves to that truth then we are finally free to receive the unmerited love and favor of God. Then we humbly give to others and make preference for them with honor because we know at such a personal level how Yahweh and Jesus have done the same for us. This is called “loving the unlovely” and it is really hard because your natural person resurrects its ugly self. However, the more we can receive the truth about the love the Father has for us, the more we will be able to make others needs and wants a higher priority than ours. I don’t say it is easy but if we can all make a little shift in that direction, then all will be better and easier.