This week we took a look at the segment from Paul’s letter to the Romans dealing with how we reflect the love of Christ both within the church and outside of the church as well.
As we read through the passage the first point we discussed was around the phrase “genuine love.” This is a major point on a couple of different levels. First, is our understanding of the word “love.” In our English language we have just this one word to describe a range of different things, therefore, the word has several different meanings and it is hard for us to keep them straight sometimes. We can say that we love our spouse, which means one thing, then also say we love our children which means something a little different. We say we love our parents or sisters brothers, even our friends and that means some a little different. We can also say: “I loved that meal”, or “I love that movie.” Which means something completely different. But it’s all the same word. Paul writing in the Greek has a few other tools at his disposal. When he talks about genuine love the word he uses there is agape which is the all-encompassing love we have or should have for human beings. But then Paul, takes it a step further using the word philadelphia, which is the love we would have for a family member or a friend. Then the word we translate as “mutual affection” is actually related to the first philostorgoi. Paul uses these words to describe the kind of love and affection Christians show for each other. Where this is different is in the fellowship of believers, it’s one thing to have a love for your fellow human beings, it’s another to love them as you would a close friend or family member. Paul is saying that from the very beginning, that is how followers of Jesus are to love one another. Even if they do not know each other. That is the trust that we place in one another, even to a stranger, because God first loved and entrusted us.
We talked about how it is hard to show this kind of love even for our family members, let alone to people in the church today who we may not get along with. In that we acknowledge that we sometimes treat the ones we are supposed to love the worst of anybody. That is where we rely on grace. We also examined the difficulty in our global society today to show that love to people who are most in need.
For our second point we focused, on the words “Bless, Rejoice, and Live.” Paul now switches gears here and talks about how we carry ourselves toward people who may not be a part of the church, be they pagans or non-Christian Jews at the time of his writing. Right off the bat, we are called to bless those who persecute us, not to curse them. This is hard enough in and of itself, not to curse them let alone bless them. But if we are to be an example of love we must bless them. But we also are not to prejudge others based upon persecutors actions. We are to rejoice with people when there is something to celebrate, and to live in harmony with everyone. This was a challenge for the first Christians and perhaps for any Christian today who believes they know the truth about Jesus. It is easy to separate us as better than them and therefore separate ourselves from them. We have a history of this even as we think of people who may go to “another church” Lord forbid! But especially for those who are outside of the church. It was discussed also that many times we cannot bless our enemies or love them is because of our own fear and anxiety. We struggle with so much our selves we avoid the issue instead of relying on God’s strength. We also discussed how, these relationships with others depend on our response. How do handle the persecution anger, etc? Do we respond with love or with more of the same? We may not be someone’s best friend after, but we have at least attempted reconciliation.
The Third point was “Depending on You”. Paul makes it clear that how the good news is made known depends greatly on us as Christ’s body the church. When people who are our enemies are fed, clothed, treated with kindness and respect, then the burden is on them to carry for not repaying evil for evil. Yet we acknowledged this is also difficult to do. Sometimes out of fear. Associating with the lowly, or those whose behavior we disapprove of is not easy and can cause more tension, however when we do these things we find out how much better situations ca become. There was some disagreement again over who was an enemy and who was a neighbor. For many people serving at a homeless shelter, or food bank, can be a scary experience, but ask anyone who has how blessed they and the people they serve have been. Another perspective was taken also that the lowly are not our enemies and we should not classify them as such. In the world of Christ followers that is most definitely true. However others disagreed in saying there is a difference between enemies. Some identify us as enemies, but our fear can also make enemies out of people who have no intention of being our enemies. Paul talks about overcoming our fear as does Jesus, and that is another step we all must take.
There is much more to discuss, so feel free to leave your comments or questions. Remember to read the scriptures and pick out what shimmers for you.
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