Walking in love

Walking in Love

 

Matthew 12:22-25   22Then a blind and dumb man under the power of a demon was brought to Jesus, and He cured him, so that the blind and dumb man both spoke and saw.  23And all the [crowds of] people were stunned with bewildered wonder and said, This cannot be the Son of David, can it?   24But the Pharisees, hearing it, said, This Man drives out demons only by and with the help of Beelzebub, the prince of demons.  25And knowing their thoughts, He said to them, Any kingdom that is divided against itself is being brought to desolation and laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will last or continue to stand.

In this story the Pharisees were giving Jesus a hard time for casting out a demon. They said since He was casting them out He must be of the devil. Jesus basically tells them that would be impossible. He says any kingdom, or cit , or house that is divided against itself cannot stand.  When I read this I was reminded of the scripture in Amos 3:3 3Do two walk together except they make an appointment and have agreed? Unless there is agreement, your home, your job and your relationships cannot thrive. Where there is disagreement strife comes in to divide. Proverbs 10:12 says 12Hatred stirs up contentions (or strife), but love covers all transgressions. In order to not allow division of strife in our life, we must learn to walk in love.

Rev. Doug Jones was recently at our church and gave the best definition of love. He said, “Love is joyfully choosing to take an action that promotes the welfare of another. Love does what is the most beneficial for the recipient at the moment.” What a powerful statement! Walking in love means that we put the well-being of our spouses, our children, our friends, our co-workers, etc…. above our own. As I started thinking about this I had to evaluate my own life, and my actions on a day to day basis. Do I do what is the most beneficial for others, or do I do what is most beneficial for myself? Ever since I heard this definition of love I find myself constantly checking my heart to make sure I am walking in love. When we walk in love, we are obeying God’s greatest commandment. Right before Jesus was crucified He told His disciples in John 13:34-35 34I give you a new commandment: that you should love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too should love one another.  35By this shall all [men] know that you are My disciples, if you love one another [if you keep on showing love among yourselves]. He told them, the same way I have loved you is the way you are to love one another. His love for us was so great that He laid down His life, enduring excruciating torture for the very ones inflicting the pain. Meditate on that for a minute. He went through so much for us, and whether we choose to serve Him or not, He still loves us. When we mess up, He still loves us. When we are wholeheartedly serving Him, He still loves us. His love for us never changes. When we start walking in love with one another like that we keep strife from coming in and allow unity to prevail in our lives.

Let Peace Be Your Umpire

Matthew 5:9 Blessed (enjoying enviable happiness, spiritually prosperous–with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the makers and maintainers of peace, for they shall be called the sons of God!

One of the rights that we have as believers is to have peace. Psalm 29:11 tells us 11The Lord will give [unyielding and impenetrable] strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace. In Psalm 34:14 it says, 14Depart from evil and do good; seek, inquire for, and crave peace and pursue (go after) it! If we actively pursue peace we will be called sons (or daughters) of God.  Even though it is something we have been given, we still have to make the effort to keep it. There will always be an opportunity to allow strife, discord and dis-unity to crop up in our lives, but if we set our hearts and minds to walk in peace we can bring agreement to whatever situation we are in. Peace can be defined as harmony or freedom from conflict or disagreement among people or groups of people. A peacemaker is someone who brings peace and reconciliation to others, someone who calms the situation.

Being a peacemaker is not always easy. Sometimes it may mean we have to bite our tongues, turn the other cheek, or walk away, but even though taking the high road may seem hard at the moment, the long term rewards are eternal. To be sons and daughters of God is the greatest benefit we could ever receive. There are lots of children that I know and love- my nieces and nephews, my friend’s boys and girls, the kids in the nursery at our church. As much as I genuinely love these children, my own children are even more dear to my heart. My son and my daughters get extra attention, favor and blessing from me. So how do we become peacemakers? Colossians 3:15 says 15And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always]. I love how this verse says it- let the peace of God act like an umpire, deciding and settling all questions that arise in your minds. That means before you speak or act in a way that wouldn’t promote peace, stop and ask yourself if you can say or do it. If you let Christ’s peace be your deciding voice, not only will your life be more tranquil, but you will also bring that peace to others around you.