The Power to Love

"Now how can we do this? Where does power to love like this come from? Just think how astonishing this is when it appears in the real world! Could anything show the truth and power and reality of Christ more than this?

Let me just give you part of the answer from Matthew 5:11-12,

Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. 12 Rejoice. and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Jesus says that not only can you endure the mistreatment of the enemy, but you can also rejoice in it. Why? Because your reward in heaven is great.

Which means that the command to love your enemy is a command to set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth. The command to love your enemy is a command to find your hope and your satisfaction in God and his great reward--not in the way people treat you. The steadfast love of the Lord is better than life (Psalm 63:3).

Loving your enemy doesn't earn you the reward of heaven. Treasuring the reward of heaven empowers you to love your enemy."

This excerpt is taken from John Piper's sermon "But I Say to You, Love Your Enemies, Part 2." Click over here to see the rest of the article.

Why can't we be friends?

We've all seen it before (at least those of us who have Facebook pages... isn't that all of us?): this friend or the other has done a spring/fall/spiteful/pick your adjective 'cleaning up' of their Facebook friends, and now they're ready to tell those left standing just how lucky they were to make the cut.

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."
- Mother Teresa

For some reason or another - I'll probably figure out in the writing of this blog post - this sort of thing never did sit well with me. I get that 'having a Facebook' is a personal thing; something for people to personalize and add silly sibling quotes and their latest TV show obsession (yes, it's an obsession) to. And therefore people want to see things on their newsfeed that make them happy and friends with encouraging/insightful/philosophical posts, pictures of their cute children, and reviews of the latest and greatest restaurants and products. Nothing wrong with that.

"I no doubt deserved my enemies, but I don't believe I deserved my friends."
- Walt Whitman

Here's where the issue begins for me. As a Christian, I am called to reflect the Lord in every aspect of my life - even Facebook. It's easy to do when everyone else around us is posting wonderful Christian-y stuff, and indeed the Bible does say that "bad company ruins good morals" (1 Cor. 15:33). Surrounding ourselves with those that have like-minded beliefs and who will encourage us in our walk with Christ is something we are supposed to do. But. We are also called the "light of the world" and the "salt of the earth" (Matthew 5) - we cannot put ourselves in a cloister and expect our light to shine or people to be intrigued by our 'saltiness.'

"Friendship without self interest is one of the rare and beautiful things in life."

 - James Francis Byrnes

Ah yes. My point. I guess what aggravates me about all this friend purging is that it seems sort of selfish. It's not bad to have Christian friends in your newsfeed - not at all! But deleting people simply because 'they aren't a terribly close friend at all, really' or 'they turned out to be such a loser' is a mite self-centered (this IS Facebook after all) should perhaps make you stop and thing twice about why exactly you're doing it. I'm sure many of you have heard the saying that points out "you may be the only Bible some people ever read": can you endure a few strange/depressing posts or maybe some foul language, knowing that you are shining a light into this person's life - perhaps the only light? Think about it.

Umm... yeah.

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Remember how the world was supposed to end yesterday?

Well, I'm still here. And you must be, too, since you're taking the time to read this. So much for that.

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ahahaha. ever thought about that?
Or maybe this is the explanation. Whatever the case may be, I personally find all the doomsday talk a little ridiculous. Even if you did know when it was going to happen (and I guarantee you never will), what effect would that have on anything? The day of the Lord will come "like a thief in the night" (2 Peter 3:10), and when it does, are you prepared to step into eternity?
That should be the question on your mind.

First class assignment - Part 1

Assignment: 1. Make a list of current issues/hot topics. Pick one or two and just write about them for at least 15 minutes. Let the writing sit for a couple hours or days, then come back and read them again. 2. Find your position on the issue(s), where you stand in relation on it/them to those in authority and to your peers, and the stance taken by those who disagree. How would people respond to your opinions? 3. Now pick your favorite topic and write about it for 15 minutes again. 4. Give your writing to someone you trust; discuss it with them, take careful note of their opinions, and revise it if your opinion changes.

Consider what there is to say; before whom, in whose defence, against whom, at what time and place, under what circumstances; what is the popular opinion on the subject; and what the prepossessions of the judges are likely to be; and finally of what we should express our deprecation or desire.

~ Quintilian

gun control

civil rights

the economy

global warming

health care

Internet control bill

For this one, I think I have to go with gun control. After the shooting in Tucson and the most recent one at a high school (in California, I think?), everyone I hear talking about them brings up the issue of gun control, and unfortunately it seems that most people are in favor of it. It sounded good to me at first, but the collected wisdom of several people I respect quickly helped me to see that it's not really the solution. It brings to mind that quote “Those who sacrifice their freedom for security deserve neither freedom nor security.” Let's face it, our nation is getting lazier and lazier. Instead of people taking initiative and wanting to deal with their own problems, they blame the government for everything and expect it to take care of whatever they don't want to deal with. Roads? Gov.'s problem. Elderly parents? Let the government take care of 'em. Gosh sakes people, they're YOUR family! Poverty? We can't be the generous ones, it has to be the government. There doesn't seem to be a concept of community anymore, much less family. We can't take responsibility for the things we see our children being taught or the video games they play or the religions they might choose to dabble in; when one happens to go psycho, who do we blame? The gun. Yeah, this spoon is making me fat. Get real. We all know that freedom isn't free; we should be willing to take a little risk, let responsible citizens have guns, and when a loopy guy gets thrown into the mix it won't be just people screaming and running for cover. Someone will take initiative and stand up and defend their fellow citizens, and loopy guy goes the hospital, the insane asylum or the prison. It frustrates me to see that people are so willing to just give up control to a government that hasn't really been able to handle things that well in the first place. I'd say it all boils down to laziness. Freedom isn't free. Be willing to give some security up to know that you've earned your right to be called an American citizen.