Emotions - Week 4

Focusing our lives around Christ is one of the greatest things we can do

Because we live in light of eternity. We redirect everything we do because our life is not just HERE.

So we focus our efforts on doing what God asks of us.

In the gospels, Jesus gets asked two different questions that he gives the same answer to.

What must i do to inherit eternal life?

What’s the greatest commandment in the Law?

Matthew 22:37–40 NIV

Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

We have talked for 3 weeks about how essential it was to really, fully love God to be able to have emotionally healthy spirituality.

This week is about the flipside of that.

We need to be able to love people to have healthy spirituality

But here’s the thing - every single person you meet, even the most hate-filled person - loves somebody. So we’re all good right?

Jesus doesn’t give space for this to be easy.

Luke 6:27–28 NIV

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Luke 6:32–33 NIV

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.

This is SO IMPORTANT that John teaches that loving others is a requirement to be able to love God.

1 John 4:20 NIV

Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.

Further, this is one of the most important pieces of evidences that we can show the world that we’re really Jesus’ disciples:

John 13:35 NIV

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

So, recap:

Jesus says, our love has to be so powerful that we even love our enemies

Love is so important that if we hate someone else we’re incapable of loving God

Love is one of the biggest things that we can show the world to prove that we belong to Jesus

What do we need to do to love like that?

There’s a ton of different things that we can do. But i think there’s 3 big ones.

Recognize the image of God in everyone

Ever made something, and had someone make fun of it?

James called us out on our penchant to tear down people:

James 3:9–10 NIV

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.

If we were all made in the image of God - then we need to treat every last person with respect and dignity. Even if they deserve the curses.

Hint - this isn’t because we need to understand that deep down, everyone is actually a good person.

This is because, the bible says out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. and when we speak hate, and curses, and death - that means that we let hate, and cursing, and death into our hearts in the first place.

If we started from this holy assumption of, ‘this person that i’m about to degrade. God loves them so much, and made them’.... how would it change what you would say next?

Loving others means recognizing that God loved them first, and that the way we treat other people reflects back on God and the choices He made.

Learn to be a real peacemaker

Matthew 5:9 NIV

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

The key here is honest-to-goodness, actual peace. Not simply quiet. There’s a difference.

STORY - When my kids are peaceful, they aren’t always quiet. But they’re happy, playing together well, loving each other. But when they’re dead quiet, and I don’t know where they are or what they’re doing - something is wrong.

Quiet is not the same as peace. You can create quiet by simply not speaking.

The key to peace is speaking truth.

If someone wrongs you, you bury it, don’t ever ask or clear the air, and build up this layer of hate and poison. How could we think we’re doing God’s work by holding onto a lack of truth?

This doesn’t mean we just say whatever we want to whoever we want (see the previous rule) - but it does mean that we can’t love until we can be honest with each other, and give the other person space to be honest back.

But real and true peace is when two people are completely fine with each other. It doesn’t mean they don’t fight. It means that in that fight, they bring out the truth and work towards peace, rather than silence.

Prioritize People

Jesus was praying before his crucifixion.

John 17:20–21 (NIV)

“ I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,

that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Our presence with each other should reflect God’s presence with us.

If we are split, practicing cliques and factions - what does that reflect about Jesus to the outside world?

Have you ever heard people draw that conclusion? They see Jesus’ believers, and judge Jesus?

So Jesus’ prayer was, they need to be together like myself and my father are together. And they all together need to be in me.

I’ve heard people say, you don’t need to go to church to be a Christian. Well, good luck trying to be one and willfully refusing to join a church.

This was important to Jesus, and so it needs to be important to us.

Prioritize people in your faith.

Sometimes, that means taking more time to be around people.

Sometimes, it means picking the road that chooses people, rather than the road that chooses preference or prizes.