Loving the Mouth
I have to confess: There are some Christians whom I just flat-out don't like. It usually just boils down to having differences in our personalities (not actual sin issues that require me to call these people out), but the differences with some people are so pronounced that I sometimes can't even stand to be in the same room with them. If that makes me an imperfect Christian, so be it. News flash: There's no other kind.
There's one particular person with whom I've really had a hard time lately. I've come to dread the thought of even being around them, much less having a conversation with them. Sometimes I see their name in my Facebook news feed, and my eye starts twitching. Yes, really.
I was thinking about this person's most recent (perceived) transgression the other day while having my Quiet Time. I felt like my mind had been wrestling with the Holy Spirit over this for days; I knew that I was called to love this person, but my distaste for them had become so overwhelming that I honestly could not see how loving them was possible.
I was thinking about this person's most recent (perceived) transgression the other day while having my Quiet Time. I felt like my mind had been wrestling with the Holy Spirit over this for days; I knew that I was called to love this person, but my distaste for them had become so overwhelming that I honestly could not see how loving them was possible.
Then I read Acts 2, in which the Holy Spirit first comes to the early church. I'd read this passage countless times in the past (growing up in a Pentecostal church, I had probably heard it preached even more times than I had read it on my own), but in light of my current struggle, I was able to understand it in a way that I never had before.
Both before and after His death and resurrection, Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit. He described the Holy Spirit as a helper (John 14, 15, 16) and an empowerer (Acts 1) who would be with all believers after Jesus ascended into heaven. What a comfort to know that God didn't leave us to fend for ourselves as we seek to live this life for him!
But here's the kicker: The Holy Spirit enables us to do things that we would never, ever be able to do in our own strength. Let's go back to Acts 2. Just look at Peter. A few pages ago, he adamantly denied that he even knew Jesus, yet here he preached about Jesus so boldly that thousands of people came to faith in Christ that day. There's no way Peter did that on His own. It was a clear sign that the Holy Spirit had come to dwell within him.
Now read a little further. It says, "All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." (Acts 2:44-47)
The early Christians were together all the time. They took care of each other's needs. They ate together. They worshiped together. And they enjoyed that togetherness. That's when it hit me: Is this not also the work of the Holy Spirit? Surely, among those thousands of believers, there was a myriad of personalities. Introverts and extroverts. Thinkers and feelers. Dog people and cat people. People who, at surface level, should not get along. What else but the work of the Holy Spirit could cause these people to love each other so deeply and with such joy?
If I'm struggling to have sincere love for my brothers and sisters in Christ (regardless of personality differences or flaws), perhaps the problem is with me, not with them. If loving my fellow Christians feels more like a burden than a blessing, I have to ask myself, Am I really allowing God the Holy Spirit to do what He is promised to do in my life? In a sense, I was right when I said that it's not possible for me to love this person. It's not possible for me to love them in my own strength, but when I lean on Him, all things are possible.
The church is a family; we don't get to pick who's in it, but we love each other anyway. Not because we have to, but because we have a common bond. God made each of us different so that we would work in harmony, like parts of the body. "Now if the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason stop being part of the body." (1 Cor. 12:15, 16)
In the same way, if the nose says "I don't want to be this close to the mouth," it's still part of the body (and yes, in case you were wondering, the annoying person I'm dealing with is the mouth in this scenario...). "But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be." (1 Cor. 12:18) God puts us where He wants us, with the people He wants us with. If loving them is not easy, perhaps they're in our lives so that we might depend on God for the grace we need in order to love them as He loves them. As He loves us.
Both before and after His death and resurrection, Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit. He described the Holy Spirit as a helper (John 14, 15, 16) and an empowerer (Acts 1) who would be with all believers after Jesus ascended into heaven. What a comfort to know that God didn't leave us to fend for ourselves as we seek to live this life for him!
But here's the kicker: The Holy Spirit enables us to do things that we would never, ever be able to do in our own strength. Let's go back to Acts 2. Just look at Peter. A few pages ago, he adamantly denied that he even knew Jesus, yet here he preached about Jesus so boldly that thousands of people came to faith in Christ that day. There's no way Peter did that on His own. It was a clear sign that the Holy Spirit had come to dwell within him.
Now read a little further. It says, "All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." (Acts 2:44-47)
The early Christians were together all the time. They took care of each other's needs. They ate together. They worshiped together. And they enjoyed that togetherness. That's when it hit me: Is this not also the work of the Holy Spirit? Surely, among those thousands of believers, there was a myriad of personalities. Introverts and extroverts. Thinkers and feelers. Dog people and cat people. People who, at surface level, should not get along. What else but the work of the Holy Spirit could cause these people to love each other so deeply and with such joy?
If I'm struggling to have sincere love for my brothers and sisters in Christ (regardless of personality differences or flaws), perhaps the problem is with me, not with them. If loving my fellow Christians feels more like a burden than a blessing, I have to ask myself, Am I really allowing God the Holy Spirit to do what He is promised to do in my life? In a sense, I was right when I said that it's not possible for me to love this person. It's not possible for me to love them in my own strength, but when I lean on Him, all things are possible.
The church is a family; we don't get to pick who's in it, but we love each other anyway. Not because we have to, but because we have a common bond. God made each of us different so that we would work in harmony, like parts of the body. "Now if the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason stop being part of the body." (1 Cor. 12:15, 16)
In the same way, if the nose says "I don't want to be this close to the mouth," it's still part of the body (and yes, in case you were wondering, the annoying person I'm dealing with is the mouth in this scenario...). "But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be." (1 Cor. 12:18) God puts us where He wants us, with the people He wants us with. If loving them is not easy, perhaps they're in our lives so that we might depend on God for the grace we need in order to love them as He loves them. As He loves us.
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