I have been reading in 1 Corinthians of late, and a passage that really has stirred up thought is 1 Corinthians 5. It talks about Christian brothers who refuse to repent of sin and how if they continue to refuse to repent they must be expelled from the church. The hardest part for me comes in the last verse where Paul directs the congregation not to associate with that man, or even eat with them.
It is hard for me to imagine actually having to cease associating with someone I loved. We had a speaker come into one of my classes the other day that (as a side note) talked about his theory that if someone remains unrepentant long term, they were not a Christian in the first place and you can begin to re-associate with them and evangelize. Still, that is so hard!
So then, last night, I talked about a lot of this with Josh. While I was falling asleep later, I also wondered: Is my biggest struggle with this possibly because I do not have enough love for God in comparison to how much I love people? The first commandment is to love the Lord your God will all that your are, and the second is to love your neighbor as yourself. I wonder: do I sometimes (still) replace passion and love of my GOD with love for the lost?
This story that God is writing is not mainly about the people, it is about the merciful and holy God. God is the one that is supposed to drive all I do. I am supposed to be "zealous for the fear of the Lord." (Proverbs 23:17) DO I (ULTIMATELY) LOVE GOD MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE? I certainly want to. Am I ready to give up all of the ones I love dearly, Christian and non-Christian to the service of His glory, come whatever cost? I do not think that I am really ready. I struggle when He lets loved ones suffer, and when He lets people die that I know are not saved. Father, help me! Help me understand this strange combination of loving those around me, but loving You most... and wanting You to be glorified.
Can loving people be an idol? Yeah. How do we even do this? We can't. We need "The Helper" (as Dr. Ward reminded us yesterday) - the Spirit. Send the Helper!
Big thoughts. Few answers.
I agree with you there April. Loving people can get in front of your relationship with Jesus. Though, the care you have to empathize is very important, so you almost have to do both in caring for others but being affirmed by your faith that God is working. Thanks, Caleb
ReplyDeletei know I don't love God more than certain people in my life. I have always struggled with this. I still do. It's hard but thankfully God knew we would not be able to do this on our own. I understand though, and I really think you are doing a great job with concentrating on God. I'm horrible at that. I constantly need to be reminded that God is the one i need to focus on. and in those few quiet moments when i do, they are the most peaceful and joy filled moments in my life.
ReplyDeleteYou have to remember the goal of expelling the immoral brother - that he would be restored! I've seen it happen and it is beautiful and a wonderful testimony of God's amazing grace. It is hard to respond to an unrepentant brother the way God calls us to, but keeping in mind the goal is sure helpful.
ReplyDeleteMom, that's REALLY helpful. Thanks for sharing that. I think I have a tendency to not look far enough to see (potential) long-term effects of hard love.
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