As a pastor, I've been thinking through the condition of the church lately. I mean the global church, not just a particular congregation. I've been meditating on why we find it so difficult to get along sometimes; to love each other unconditionally? Why do we get our feelings hurt so often and fail to come to agreements? Why are we so focused on ourselves that we fail to obey the most basic commandment: love God with all our hearts and our neighbors as ourselves? Aren't we all followers of Christ?
THE ENEMY
As I thought and prayed through that and searched Scripture for some sort of answer--something that would make sense of it all, I came across Ephesians 6:12 and it hit me: we are all suckers. I know, I know "Who does this Price-guy think he is calling me a sucker?" Well, I think I'm a fellow sucker who doesn't want us to be suckers anymore! You see, in his letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul addressed this very concern (see, it's nothing new) and said that "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic power over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." In other words, Ephesians (i.e. Christians), no one who is of flesh is the enemy! Stop fighting one another! Stop looking at each other as the enemy! Every time you do, you fall right into the real enemies hands and do exactly what he wants you to do. In other words, you're suckers!
THE STAKES
This level of confusion regarding who the enemy is runs rampant in the church of Jesus Christ. It leads us to "shoot our own wounded" when we fall in sin. It leads us to put those who don't do things our way or take different views or opinions than we do into our cross hairs. We become determined to vilify and defeat "the enemy." Perhaps we would never put what we do to one another in such harsh terms, but perhaps we need to "call a spade a spade." The results should be obvious: hurt feelings and damaged relationships, division within the church with various competing "camps" being established depending on where one falls on a given issue, victory for Satan and all his minions, and ultimate destruction of the local church. Oh, yeah, and let's not forgot the smearing of the name of Him who died on a cross to deliver us from the real enemy; the one we claim to worship and honor.
Paul put it this way in Galatians 5: 14-15: "For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another." The ultimate result? Total destruction.
THE SOLUTION
The answer to the problem as I see it is so simple and yet so very difficult to do:
1. Humility. OK, I know me: In a disagreement with another, my first response is to automatically assume I'm right. OK, humility here...you know you do, too. Perhaps approaching every issue, whether in our homes or our churches, with humility, respecting the other person or persons, is a great first step toward understanding another perspective. Along with this is the necessity to give a little and stop demanding our own way. Especially within the church (though certainly in our homes, too) there must be the primary goal of honoring Christ and fulfilling HIS will in all things.
2. Love. Agape is the unconditional affection we give one another as Christ lavished upon us. Someone hurt your feelings? Love them anyway. Someone disagree with you? OK, but love them anyway. Someone different than you? Someone get on your nerves? We're all different...love them anyway. We're talking active love, not just the rhetoric of saying we love but still shun or disrespect them. If you cannot love anyway, regardless of the circumstance, something is wrong.
3. Focus. Remember who the enemy is: It is not anyone with skin on! Refuse to allow yourself to vilify anyone, remembering that they are under the same attack you are, susceptible to the same evils you are, needing the same grace you do. Pray for them. Reach out to them. Forgive them. Love them.
Always remember we have a common enemy. Reach out to others who are fighting the battle against sin. Determine to unite together, in the midst of and in spite of our differences, and let Christ fight the battles for us. We won't always agree, but we must never let that stop us from loving relationships.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Labels: David C. Price
