This is the fourth in a series of blog posts examining a key
to personally dealing with crises. Included in this series will be selected
excerpts taken from my book,
The Power and Promises
of THE NAME Jesus
available in hardcover from the publisher at…
Or as an e-book at…
Or check the bookseller of your choice for availability.
Maintaining Peace,
Joy and Love in the Midst of Crises
Part 4 – Love in the
Midst of Hatred
In previous weeks in this continuing series on Peace, Joy
and Love in the Midst of Crises, we have examined Peace in the Midst of Crisis
and Joy in the Midst of Adversity. This week, as we continue this current
series of blog posts, let’s think about how we might illustrate love:
What is love? Is it
poetry?
Why
do I love thee, I really cannot say.
Tho
I know it’s oft been said there must have been a way.
It
doesn’t really matter how love came to be.
The
only thing that that really counts
is
that it came to you and me. AP
No. Scratch that. Hmmm...?
Maybe love is romance.
John and Mary strolled hand in hand
along the beach at sunset. They felt as
if the whole world belonged to them alone.
As they stopped to enjoy the beautiful golden hues of the expansive sky,
made doubly radiant reflecting off the water and moist sand of the beach, John
gently placed his hand around Mary’s waist.
She reciprocated by leaning in close to him, laying her head on his
shoulder and wrapping her arms around him...
No. Forget that
too. Let’s see...? Maybe it’s sex.
John was aroused when Mary...
Naw. We won’t even
start on that one. Let’s consider a
different angle. It could be that love
is obedience. Jesus did say... “If you
love me, you will obey what I command” (NIV
Bible, John 14:15). Or perhaps it is sacrifice. “Greater love has no one than this, that he
lay down his life for his friends” (NIV
Bible, John 15:13.
Okay, you
get the idea. Love is a word with many
and varied meanings. It is likely the
most used and misused word in the English language. It may be employed to describe anything from
an affinity for butter pecan ice cream, to intense romantic emotion, to
sacrificing all for a noble cause.
Love is a
subject with which mankind has been obsessed for centuries. So fixated on it
are we, that it is unquestionably the major theme of our literature and art. In
this short blog we have neither the time nor the inclination to exhaustively
explore the topic. Our discussion here
is primarily to point out that, like peace and joy, love is something greatly
longed for by human beings of all stations and statures. Like peace and joy, it is also often quite
elusive. And, like peace and joy, true
love, as God intends it to be, may only be fully realized through His presence
in our lives.
True love, we are taught, has these
attributes:
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is
not proud. It is not rude, it is not
self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices
with the truth. It always protects,
always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (NIV Bible, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7).
We also learn that God himself is
the creator and embodiment of love:
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from
God. Everyone who loves has been born of
God and knows God. Whoever does not love
does not know God, because God is love” (NIV
Bible, 1 John 4:7-8).
Through Jesus Christ, God
demonstrated for us what love is to be:
“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world
that we might live through him. This is
love: not that we loved God, but that he
loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (NIV Bible, 1 John 4:9-10).
Through Him it may become manifest
within us and emanate from us:
“...God is love.
Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among
us....” (NIV Bible, 1 John
4:16-17). “Dear friends, since God so
loved us, we also ought to love one another.
No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us
and his love is made complete in us” (NIV Bible, 1 John 4:11-12).
It is interesting to note, when we
look to the Bible, that much of what it teaches us about love concerns not how
we may receive and possess love, but rather how and to whom we are to give our love. We are commanded to love God, our neighbors,
our fellow believers, and even our enemies.
“Love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (NIV Bible, Deuteronomy 6:5), “...love
your neighbor as yourself” (NIV Bible, Leviticus 19:18). Jesus
said... “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one
another. By this all men will know that
you are my disciples, if you love one another” (NIV Bible, John 13:34-35). He also taught... “But I tell
you: Love your enemies and pray for
those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven...” (NIV
Bible, Matthew 5:44-45).
This brings
to mind leaders who followed the example of Jesus. While He was being crucified, Jesus offered
His love and intercession for those who were putting Him to death. “When they came to the place called the
Skull, there they crucified him… Jesus
said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing’” (NIV Bible, Luke 23:33-34). Stephen most notably followed Christ’s
example. “Just as Jesus had prayed,
‘Father forgive them’ and ‘Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit’ (Lk.
23:34,46), so Stephen prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit’ and ‘Lord, do not
hold this sin against them’ (Acts 7:59, 60)” (Gardner 412).[1] Stephen followed Christ’s example of love in
the midst of hatred yet without compromise of the truth.
No compromise of
truth in the face of suffering–
Stephen courageously spoke the
truth in love and did not shrink in the face of suffering. After masterfully chronicling the story of
the Jewish people and noting a history of resisting God’s Holy Spirit inspired
prophets, Stephen pronounces this indictment of his accusers: “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart
and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you” (NKJV Bible, Acts 7:51). The problem of “resisting” the Holy Spirit is
a big one. The Jewish leaders whom Stephen was addressing in this passage were
so steeped in the traditions and the supposed letter of the law that they could
not and would not see the meaning of the Law. The Holy Spirit, through Stephen, was bringing
them fresh revelation, but if that meant viewing things differently than the
way they had always done things before, they would not hear, they resisted.
The same thing is true today in the Church. Why are we so hell-bent on doing things the
same way as always? Why does anything
new or different upset us? Why do we so
resist change? It's not that everything
new is right, but our stubborn resistance often blocks fresh revelation the
Holy Spirit wants to give us now. Bill
Hybels writes, “Every leader must learn… Holy Spirit dependence. If you do, God will make your calling
sure. And being sure of your calling
will provide the staying power you need” (237).[2] God’s leaders today must follow the direction
of the Holy Spirit, must not be guilty of resisting the Holy Spirit, and must
be prepared to meet resistance with courage and love.
Another example of a leader who
would not compromise his faith even amidst severe suffering is Job. “In all this Job did not sin nor charge God
with wrong” (NKJV Bible, Job 1:22); “In all this Job did not sin with his lips”
(NKJV Bible, Job 2:10). Of Job’s
standing as a leader, the writer of the book of Job states that, “this man was
the greatest of all the people of the East” (NKJV Bible, Job 1:3). J. Lawrence
Eason comments in regard to Job’s dealing with his sufferings, “although God
does not explain to Job the cause of his suffering, he becomes so sure of God’s
wisdom and competence that he knows his affliction somehow is in harmony with
God’s righteousness. Job has learned to trust where he cannot
understand. This is the supreme
lesson of the book (of Job)” (Eason 243).[3]
Job and Stephen were like-spirited
men it seems. To have such faith and belief in God that your faith and trust
cannot be swayed, no matter what is happening to you personally, is remarkable.
These were not ignorant men. Job was wise. He was the most successful
businessman of his time. Stephen demonstrated the most intellectually sound
understanding of Old Testament history and its meaning, tying it together with
the New Testament, that can be found anywhere in the Bible. Stephen and Job show us that this kind of steadfast
faith and demonstration of love is
possible for Christian leaders and
those whom they lead.
Conclusion
Over these weeks looking at how
leaders may handle the difficult circumstances and even attacks that may come against
them and their leadership, I hope the key concept of living and leading within
the context of having a personal relationship with your Creator has resonated
within your own spirit. The leader who is at peace in crisis will not be driven
by a sense of urgency or fear. The
leader who remains joyful in trying situations will not succumb to depression
and grumbling. The leader who loves even
those who wish them harm will not be clouded by hatred and vengeance. The leader who possesses peace, joy and love
will not only enjoy the benefits of these fruits of the Spirit, but will
engender followers to whom they will be an inspiration. And, as has been seen in the lives and
leadership of all of the successful biblical characters examined, the key to
abiding peace, joy and love in and through critical situations, is in
maintaining a close relationship with the Lord.
_______________
NOTE: Please visit this blog site each week (a new blog is
posted every Monday). This blog entry is part 4 (the concluding entry) of a
series of blog posts examining the subject of Peace, Joy and Love in the Midst
of Crises. Part 1 was posted on 2017-06-05, Part 2 was posted on 2017-06-12 and
Part 3 was posted on 2017-06-19.
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